https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/
enFri, 22 Feb 2019 16:29:52 +0100Fri, 15 Feb 2019 14:03:53 +0100https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/clients/150_1369.pnghttps://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/
144Patients’ own cells could be the key to treating Crohn’s diseasehttps://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/httpsmanagerp/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/httpsmanagerp/A new technique using patients’ own modified cells to treat Crohn’s disease has been proven to be effective in experiments using human cells, with a clinical trial of the treatment expected to start in the next six months.
]]>A new technique using patients’ own modified cells to treat Crohn’s disease has been proven to be effective in experiments using human cells, with a clinical trial of the treatment expected to start in the next six months.

Researchers at the NIHR Guy’s and St Thomas’ Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) developed the technique by studying white blood cells taken from patients who have Crohn’s disease, and comparing them to cells of healthy people. Their findings allowed cell therapy specialists in the BRC to develop a treatment involving taking patients’ cells, and growing them in a special culture so that they behave more like cells from healthy people.

Professor Graham Lord, from The University of Manchester, led the study. The research was carried out while he was Director of the NIHR Guy’s and St Thomas’ BRC and a Consultant Nephrologist at Guy’s and St Thomas’. He is now Vice President and Dean of the Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health at the University of Manchester.

The research, published in the journal Gastroenterology, shows that this technique is effective in human cells, meaning it is ready for use in a clinical trial. The proposed Tribute Trial will test whether the treatment is safe and effective for treating Crohn’s disease.

Crohn’s disease is a lifelong condition in which parts of the digestive system become severely inflamed, causing a range of symptoms such as diarrhoea, stomach aches, tiredness and weight loss. Its causes are unknown, but the immune system is known to play a part. The often debilitating condition is estimated to affect around 620,000 people in the UK.

Professor Lord said: “This is the next frontier in cell therapy, as we’re going beyond treating the symptoms of Crohn’s disease, and trying to reset the immune system to address the condition.

“It’s a real home-grown treatment in the sense that we started with observing cells and tissues donated by patients at Guy’s and St Thomas’, have developed a treatment, and are now starting to undertake trials, all at the Trust. It shows how central patients are to research, helping to create a treatment that might help thousands more people.”

Rachel Sawyer, a communications manager who is 50 and lives in Anerley in south east London, was diagnosed with Crohn's disease in 2000 and treated at Guy's and St Thomas'. Although her condition is now under control, she supports other people who have Crohn's and runs the Twitter account @Bottomline_IBD.

She said: "One of the worst things for me was the unpredictability, particularly around needing the toilet in a hurry. Having Crohn's completely re-routes your daily life and makes it hard to do the normal things most of us take for granted like going out socially or taking public transport. Even now, the fear of it is never really far from my mind.

"Another difficult thing is the stigma associated with bowel disease. It's difficult to talk and be open about it, even with family and friends. I found life very isolating and challenging at times – and that's something so many people with Crohn's experience, regardless of whether they were diagnosed years ago or last month. For people diagnosed young, it can impact on the formative years of their life.

“Anything that could help people with Crohn's have the confidence to go out and get back to being the people they were destined to be would be a game-changer."

The researchers found that specialised white blood cells called regulatory T cells from Crohn’s patients produced less of a gut-specific protein called integrin α4β7 than regulatory T cells from healthy people. Working with the specialists at the NIHR Guy’s and St Thomas’ BRC’s Advanced Therapies Manufacturing Platform, they developed a cell therapy technique based on these findings.

This technique involves developing cells from the Crohn’s disease patients with a molecule called RAR568, which restores healthy levels of integrin α4β7. The cells are then given back to patients by intravenous infusion.

Dr Peter Irving, a Consultant Gastroenterologist and co-author on the paper, said: “While the treatments available for Crohn’s disease have increased over recent years, they only work in some patients. In addition, the treatments have potentially serious side effects in some patients. This research paves the way for a trial of using patients’ own cells to treat their Crohn’s disease and we look forward to offering people the chance to take part in the very near future.”

The research was supported by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) through the NIHR Guy’s and St Thomas’ Biomedical Research Centre and the Medical Research Council. Additional support was provided by Litwin IBD Pioneers Funding Program at the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation, the Freemason’s Grand Charity and the Rosetree’s Trust.

]]>headlines,research,medicine,health,crohn'sFri, 15 Feb 2019 13:03:53 +0000https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1369/500_tummyache-320200.jpg?10000 Report highlights postcode lottery in strength and balance programmes which help people at risk of fallshttps://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/report-highlights-postcode-lottery-in-strength-and-balance-programmes-which-help-people-at-risk-of-falls/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/report-highlights-postcode-lottery-in-strength-and-balance-programmes-which-help-people-at-risk-of-falls/Exercise programmes designed to boost the muscle strength and balance of people at risk of falls and injury – such as resistance training, aerobics classes and yoga groups – are not being prioritised by the NHS and local authority commissioners.
]]>Exercise programmes designed to boost the muscle strength and balance of people at risk of falls and injury – such as resistance training, aerobics classes and yoga groups – are not being prioritised by the NHS and local authority commissioners.

A new report argues NHS falls rehabilitation services often don’t have the funding or ability to themselves provide strength and balance programmes for more than a few hours over just 6-8 weeks, much less than the 50+ hours over six months needed to make a difference to a person’s ability to do everyday activities.

The issue can be exacerbated by referral pathways from the NHS to community-led programmes being unclear, with Clinical Commissioning Groups, local authorities and charities failing to join up with one another. A lack of consistent provision can limit the opportunities for people to take up strength and balance training and exercise programmes which will have a real impact on their wellbeing.

Muscle weakness and poor balance are the two most common modifiable risk factors for falls, which can lead to injuries such as hip fractures and make people more likely to end up in hospital or need social care. Hip fractures alone cost the NHS around £1bn per year.

Strength and balance activity can mitigate these risks and can lower the chance of suffering a fall, improve energy levels, mood and sleeping patterns and reduce the risk of early death.

The report shows that, for adults with declining mobility and those experiencing a loss of muscle and bone strength or balance, there can be a corresponding decline in their ability to manage everyday activities like eating, bathing and getting dressed on their own.

The report recommends that NHS and local authorities support evidence-based programmes, making sure that the most effective approaches to improving strength and balance are accessible and affordable for everyone. Making people aware of the benefit of strength and balance exercises should be a priority, and commissioners must work together to reinforce the information given to patients. There also needs to be improved collaboration between those referring people to programmes and those delivering them.

“Improving and retaining strength and balance is vital for our wider health. Despite common misconceptions, falls are not an inevitable part of ageing and can be prevented. Evidence tells us that strength and balance programmes reduce the risk of falls, but lack of communication and effective referral pathways can mean poor or non-existent provision.

“If we can enable and encourage more people to take up activities to boost their strength and balance, there is significant potential to make savings to health and social care services and help people stay healthy and keep on doing everyday activities for longer.”

Professor Chris Todd, Professor of Primary Care and Community Health, School of Health Sciences, University of Manchester said:

“Making people aware of the benefit of strength and balance exercises should be a priority. Prevention is absolutely central to the NHS Long Term Plan, which emphasises a move away from simply treating disease to a system that helps to keep people healthy for longer.

“Our project shows that if the Long Term Plan’s ambition is to be realised, there needs to be a step change in the way strength and balance training is organised so that it is implemented effectively across the NHS in partnership with local government and the third sector.”

]]>headlines,research,aging,healthTue, 12 Feb 2019 08:30:39 +0000https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1369/500_aerobicclass-676889.jpg?10000Masterswitch discovered in body’s immune systemhttps://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/masterswitch-discovered-in-bodys-immune-system/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/masterswitch-discovered-in-bodys-immune-system/Scientists have discovered a critical part of the body’s immune system with potentially major implications for the treatment of some of the most devastating diseases affecting humans.
]]>Scientists have discovered a critical part of the body’s immune system with potentially major implications for the treatment of some of the most devastating diseases affecting humans.

Professor Graham Lord, from The University of Manchester, led the study, which could translate into treatments for autoimmune diseases including Cancer, Diabetes, Multiple Sclerosis and Crohn’s Disease within a few years.

It is published in The Journal of Clinical Investigation today.

The discovery of the molecular pathway regulated by a tiny molecule - known as microRNA-142 - is a major advance in our understanding of the immune system.

The 10-year-study found that microRNA-142 controls Regulatory T cells, which modulate the immune system and prevent autoimmune disease. It is, they found, the most highly expressed regulator in the immune system.

Professor Lord, led the research while at Kings College London in collaboration with Professor Richard Jenner at UCL.

And according to Professor Lord, the discovery could be translated into a viable drug treatment within a few years.

He said: “Autoimmune diseases often target people in the prime of their life creating a significant socio-economic burden on them. Sometimes, the effect can be devastating, causing terrible hardship and suffering.

“But these findings represent a significant step forward in the understanding of the immune system and we believe many people worldwide may benefit.”

If the activity of Regulatory T cells is too low, this can cause other immune cells to attack our own body tissues. If these Regulatory T cells are too active, this leads to suppression of immune responses and can allow cancers to evade the immune system.

So being able to control them is a major step forward in our ability to control- and harness – the therapeutic power of the immune system.

Professor Richard Jenner from UCL, who led the computational side of the project, said that: “We were able to trace the molecular fingerprints of this molecule across other genes to determine how it acted as such a critical regulator."

Professor Lord, now Vice President and Dean of the Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health at The University of Manchester, added: “Scientists over the past decade or so have developed therapies which are able to modulate different pathways of the immune system. We hope that this new discovery will lead to the development of new ways to treat autoimmunity, infectious diseases and cancer and we are incredibly excited about where this may lead.”

]]>headlines,Biology,Health,Medicine,Immunology,Research,BiologyTue, 12 Feb 2019 03:02:00 +0000https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1369/500_doctorandstethoscope.jpg?10000Annual screening detects breast cancers earlier for women aged 35-39 with a family historyhttps://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/annual-screening-detects-breast-cancers-earlier-for-women-aged-35-39-with-a-family-history/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/annual-screening-detects-breast-cancers-earlier-for-women-aged-35-39-with-a-family-history/Annual screening for younger women aged 35-39 who have a family history of breast cancer would be highly effective in detecting tumours earlier, a major UK trial has found.
]]>Annual screening for younger women aged 35-39 who have a family history of breast cancer would be highly effective in detecting tumours earlier, a major UK trial has found.

The trial, funded by charity Breast Cancer Now, found that annual mammograms for women aged 35-39 at ‘moderate’ or ‘high’ risk of breast cancer detected tumours when they were significantly smaller in size and less likely to have spread to the lymph nodes than in an unscreened control cohort.

Based on the findings, leading UK clinicians and researchers suggest that regular screening in women identified at moderate or high risk of breast cancer could be extended from ages 40-49 to also include women aged 35-39.

While more women are now surviving the disease than ever before, breast cancer remains the leading cause of death in women under 50 in England and Wales1 – with over 920 younger women losing their lives to the disease in 2017.

In total, around 55,000 women and 350 men are diagnosed with breast cancer each year in the UK and it is estimated that around 5-15% of cases are linked to a family history of the disease.

Women with a significant family history of breast cancer2 can be referred by their GP to specialist services for an assessment of their risk, as well as support including information about available monitoring and risk-reducing options such as chemoprevention, lifestyle advice or preventive surgery.

A specialist will consider the pattern of these familial cancers, including ages at diagnosis, and other factors such as a woman’s age or any prior breast or ovarian cancers – giving an overall estimate as to whether they are at ‘moderate’ (17-29% lifetime risk3), ‘high’ (30% or higher lifetime risk) or ‘general population’ risk (~11% lifetime risk).

With early detection offering the best survival outcomes for breast cancer patients, NICE guidelines currently recommend annual screening for women aged 40-49 in England who are identified as being at ‘moderate’ or ‘high’ risk of the disease – following evidence of the benefit in this group reported in the FH01 trial4 in 2010.

In a new prospective trial in younger women (FH02) – led by Professor Gareth Evans at The University of Manchester – 2,899 women aged 35-39 at moderate or high risk of breast cancer due to their family history were offered annual screening across 34 UK centres between 2006 and 2015.

In total, 50 breast cancers were detected (in 49 women), of which 35 were invasive tumours. Of the 35 invasive breast cancers, 80% (28/35) were detected by screening when the tumour was 2cm or smaller in size, and only 20% (7/35) had spread to the patients’ lymph nodes.

The trial compared the results to an unscreened cohort of women aged 35-39 and at increased risk in the POSH trial4, with annual screening being shown to nearly double the proportion of tumours detected before they had grown to 2cm in size. In unscreened women, just 45% (131/293) of breast cancers were detected when the tumour was 2cm or smaller in size and 54% (158/290) of cases had already spread to the lymph nodes.

Unscreened women (POSH)

Screened women (FH02)

Invasive tumours detected when 2cm or smaller

45%

(131/293)

80%

(28/35)

Invasive tumours detected that hadn’t spread to the lymph nodes

54%

(158/290 – 3 unknown)

20%

(7/35)

Further health economic analysis will now be needed to determine the full benefits and risks in this age group, including whether this screening may be limited to those with a ‘high’ chance of developing breast cancer (rather than ‘high’ and ‘moderate’) – as well as longer-term follow up to understand any impact of the radiation dose on women’s risk of future cancers.

If extended to women aged 35-39 identified at ‘moderate’ and ‘high’ risk in the future, using the current NICE family history criteria, the researchers estimate that up to 3-4% of the female population aged 35-39 may be eligible for annual screening – between 64,000-86,000 women in the UK.

Leading charity Breast Cancer Now today called for the upcoming review of NHS cancer screening programmes to include an assessment of family history services across the country, and to set out the health economic evidence required to consider extending screening to women aged 35-39 at moderate or high risk due to their family history.

With several risk prediction models in development, it is also hoped that the inclusion of information about small genetic changes that increase breast cancer risk (known as SNPs) and women’s breast density could in future help give an even more accurate estimation of breast cancer risk – and could help adapt the NHS Breast Screening Programme to offer more targeted, ‘risk-stratified’ screening.

The results of the FH02 trial are published today in The Lancet’s online journal EClinicalMedicine.

Lead author Professor Gareth Evans, Professor in Medical Genetics and Cancer Epidemiology at The University of Manchester, said:

“These are the first significant data on the benefits of screening in women aged 35-39 who are at increased risk of breast cancer due to a family history, and the results are very promising.

“Our trial shows that mammography screening is effective in detecting tumours earlier in this younger age group, and lays the groundwork for extending this screening in women at moderate or high risk from ages 40-49 down to women aged 35-39.

“Overdiagnosis is also far less likely to be a major issue in such a young age group. For women with a family history, removing a non-invasive tumour so early in their lives is likely to be a cancer preventive. You only need to look at current long-term survival outcomes in this group to see just how important new early detection methods could be.

“Longer-term follow-up is now required to determine the impact of this screening on women’s overall survival and any impact on their future risk of primary breast cancer – while health economic analysis will be needed to assess whether such screening could be extended to both ‘moderate’ and ‘high’ risk women.”

“This could be an enormous breakthrough on early detection in young women with a family history of breast cancer. We believe these findings could be practice-changing, and urge the Government’s upcoming review of NHS screening programmes to set out what further evidence will be needed to consider annual screening for women aged 35-39 who are at increased familial risk of breast cancer.

“Early detection remains absolutely critical to stopping women dying from breast cancer. The earlier the disease is found, the more likely treatment is to be successful – and this major trial suggests that screening could be vital in women as young as 35 who we know are at increased risk.

“With breast cancer still the leading cause of death in women under 50, we need to find ways to identify those most at risk and offer them interventions earlier. We’ve long known that a family history can define a woman’s risk, and that breast cancer can be more aggressive in younger women. So, if we can intervene earlier for those at higher risk through annual screening, we believe we may be able to stop the disease cutting so many women’s lives so heartbreakingly short.

“While we now need to understand the full balance of risks, costs and benefits of mammography in this group, we are extremely excited by the potential to adapt our world-class NHS screening services to prevent more deaths from breast cancer in younger women.

“In the meantime, we’d encourage any women concerned about their family history of breast cancer to speak to their GP, and to check their breasts regularly. Just get to know what looks and feels normal for you, check regularly, and report any unusual changes to your GP. It could save your life.”

For women currently aged 35-39 who have already been identified at moderate or high risk, Baroness Morgan added:

“While this trial is really encouraging, these are the first results to show that screening would be effective for this age group – and it may still be some time before this option could be extended to women aged 35-39.

“In the absence of screening, it is so important for women at increased risk to remain breast aware and to report any unusual changes in your breasts to your doctor. Please do speak to your GP if you have any concerns at all or if you’d like to discuss the options available to you in more detail.”

The FH02 trial was led by the FH02 study group across 34 UK centres, and was funded by Breast Cancer Now – with additional support from the NIHR Manchester Biomedical Research Centre.

]]>headlines,cancer,research,health,medicine,topbanner,Research-BeaconsMon, 11 Feb 2019 00:53:00 +0000https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1369/500_howellbreastcancer453x306.jpg?10000Sun damages skin of older black people, finds researchhttps://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/sun-damages-skin-of-older-black-people-finds-research/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/sun-damages-skin-of-older-black-people-finds-research/Premature ageing in the skin of white people caused by repeated exposure to the sun also occurs in black skin - though about 50 years later, according to new research.
]]>Premature ageing in the skin of white people caused by repeated exposure to the sun also occurs in black skin - though about 50 years later, according to new research.

The team - led by University of Manchester scientists – dispel the myth that people with black skin are largely protected from sun damage because of its high content of pigment.

It has long been known that prolonged exposure to the sun causes premature ageing in skin of white people.

The study of 21 people in their early 20s and 18 people in their 60s and 70s is the first to analyse how skin structure and elasticity changes with age in black people.

Lead researcher Dr Abigail Langton from The University of Manchester, said: “We know repeated exposure to the sun can age white skin, but very little research has been carried out on black people.

“This research shows that black skin is indeed affected by the sun, though it takes far longer for that effect to be felt.”

The research was carried out in partnership with Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, the United States.

The team analysed two skin sites: the buttock, which is protected from sun damage so giving researchers information on how skin may change due to advancing age; and the forearm, which receives regular exposure to the sun.

They used special equipment to test the elasticity of skin and measured key proteins that help us understand skin health: fibrillin and collagen.

Protected black buttock skin performed similarly in both young and old people: the older cohort showed only small differences in elasticity. However, the sun-exposed forearm skin showed significant changes in older black volunteers: it was much less elastic and fibrillin and collagen were reduced.

Professor Rachel Watson, from The University of Manchester, said: “Our previous work has shown that there are differences in how skin is organised in black and white skin; clinicians are often unaware of this difference. There is certainly a need to take this into account when considering treatment options for all patients.

“Most research is carried out in places where there are fewer people from black and ethnic minority backgrounds which might explain the lack of data on black skin.

“But in Baltimore, around 65% of the population are African Americans – which made it easier for us to recruit volunteers.”

The study highlights the need for improved public health advice regarding the consequences of prolonged sun-exposure and the importance of using sun protection for all skin types.

The study is published in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology and is funded by Boots UK, a subsidiary of Walgreens Boots Alliance.

]]>headlines,Dermatology,Health,Aging,Research,topbannerWed, 06 Feb 2019 15:42:00 +0000https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1369/500_olderblackperson-944175.jpg?10000Healthy diet can ease symptoms of depressionhttps://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/healthy-diet-can-ease-symptoms-of-depression/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/healthy-diet-can-ease-symptoms-of-depression/An analysis of data from almost 46,000 people has found that weight loss, nutrient boosting and fat reduction diets can all reduce the symptoms of depression.
]]>An analysis of data from almost 46,000 people has found that weight loss, nutrient boosting and fat reduction diets can all reduce the symptoms of depression.

Dr Joseph Firth, an Honorary Research fellow at The University of Manchester and Research Fellow at NICM Health Research Institute at Western Sydney University, says existing research has been unable to definitively establish if dietary improvement could benefit mental health.

But in a new study published in Psychosomatic Medicine, Dr Firth and colleagues brought together all existing data from clinical trials of diets for mental health conditions.

And the study provides convincing evidence that dietary improvement significantly reduces symptoms of depression, even in people without diagnosed depressive disorders.

Dr Firth said: “The overall evidence for the effects of diet on mood and mental well-being had up to now yet to be assessed.

“But our recent meta-analysis has done just that; showing that adopting a healthier diet can boost peoples’ mood. However, it has no clear effects on anxiety.”

The study combined data from 16 randomised controlled trials that examined the effects of dietary interventions on symptoms of depression and anxiety.

Sixteen eligible trials with outcome data for 45,826 participants were included; the majority of which examined samples with non-clinical depression.

The study found that all types of dietary improvement appeared to have equal effects on mental health, with weight-loss, fat reduction or nutrient-improving diets all having similar benefits for depressive symptoms.

“This is actually good news” said Dr Firth; “The similar effects from any type of dietary improvement suggests that highly-specific or specialised diets are unnecessary for the average individual.

“Instead, just making simple changes is equally beneficial for mental health. In particular, eating more nutrient-dense meals which are high in fibre and vegetables, while cutting back on fast-foods and refined sugars appears to be sufficient for avoiding the potentially negative psychological effects of a ‘junk food’ diet.

Dr Brendon Stubbs, co-author of the study and Clinical Lecturer at the NIHR Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre and King’s College London, added: “Our data add to the growing evidence to support lifestyle interventions as an important approach to tackle low mood and depression.

“Specifically, our results within this study found that when dietary interventions were combined with exercise, a greater improvement in depressive symptoms was experienced by people. Taken together, our data really highlight the central role of eating a healthier diet and taking regular exercise to act as a viable treatment to help people with low mood.”

Studies examined with female samples showed even greater benefits from dietary interventions for symptoms of both depression and anxiety.

“So more research is needed on this. And we also need to establish how the benefits of a healthy diet are related to improvements in physical health

“It could be through reducing obesity, inflammation, or fatigue – all of which are linked to diet and impact upon mental health.

“And further research is still required to examine the effects of dietary interventions in people with clinically-diagnosed psychiatric conditions.”

The effects of dietary improvement on symptoms of depression and anxiety: a meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials is published in Psychosomatic Medicine

]]>headlines,health,medicine,diet,mental health,researchTue, 05 Feb 2019 13:00:00 +0000https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1369/500_healthydiet-348239.jpg?10000Biggest ever map of human Alzheimer’s brain publishedhttps://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/biggest-ever-map-of-human-alzheimers-brain-published/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/biggest-ever-map-of-human-alzheimers-brain-published/A study of the differences between healthy brains and those with Alzheimer’s Disease has produced largest dataset of its type ever.
]]>A study of the differences between healthy brains and those with Alzheimer’s Disease has produced largest dataset of its type ever.

And the data, developed by a team of researchers led by Dr Richard Unwin at The University of Manchester, is now freely available online for any scientist to use.

The team included researchers from the Universities Manchester, Bristol, Liverpool and Auckland.

The development is an important advance for scientists researching Alzheimer’s.

The team also show that one region of the brain previously thought to be unaffected by the disease, the cerebellum, displayed a series of changes which they think might protect it from damage caused by Alzheimer’s.

The Alzheimer’s Research UK funded study is published in the journal Communications Biology today.

The analysis, mapping the relative levels of over 5,825 distinct proteins across six regions of the brain, generated a massive 24,024 data points.

The brain regions in the study included the more heavily affected Hippocampus, Entorhinal cortex, Cingulate gyrus and the less affected Motor Cortex, Sensory Cortex, and Cerebellum

The samples were donated for research by patients at the New Zealand Brain Bank in Auckland.

Dr Unwin said: “This database provides a huge opportunity for dementia researchers around the world to progress and to follow-up new areas of biology and develop new treatments.

“It could also help validate observations seen in in animal or cell disease models in humans.

”It’s very exciting to be able to make these data public so scientists can access and use this vital information.”

Alzheimer’s Disease arises in the hippocampus and spreads through pathways in the brain.

But by looking at different parts of that pathway, the team were able to observe, for the first time, how Alzheimer’s progresses in more detail.

“We think that the changes we see in the regions affected later on-represent early disease changes, present before cells die,” he said

“These represent good new targets for drug developers, as we know it’s important to try to intervene early.”

In the course of the study, the team hit upon new molecules not previously associated with the disease, representing more targets to develop new drugs.

They also confirm that researchers looking at a range of pathways - including inflammation, Wnt signalling, and metabolic changes in human tissue - are on the right track.

The team identified 129 protein changes which were present in all areas of the brain studied, with at least 44 not previously associated with the disease.

But there were hundreds others which change only in the late-affected regions.

He added: “These new protein changes represent further targets for scientists developing new drugs

“Many of the changes here are not seen in other regions and this could imply that this region actively protects itself from disease. We won’t know for sure until we carry out more research.”

Dr Rosa Sancho, Head of Research at Alzheimer’s Research UK, said: “By studying thousands of individual proteins, this exciting research has generated a detailed molecular map of changes that get underway in the brain in Alzheimer’s disease. Making this information freely available online will help researchers to navigate the complex and changing environment of the brain in Alzheimer’s and identify processes that could be targeted by future drugs.

“There are over half a million people in the UK living with Alzheimer’s and there are currently no treatments that can slow or stop the disease from progressing in the brain. Pioneering research like this is driving progress towards new breakthroughs that will change people’s lives.”

]]>headlines,aging,health,research,alzheimers,micra,social-science,humanities-localMon, 04 Feb 2019 11:18:00 +0000https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1369/500_alzheimersbrain-191729.jpg?10000Experts assess benefits and harms of exercise for preventing falls in older peoplehttps://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/experts--assess-benefits-and-harms-of-exercise-for-preventing-falls-in-older-people/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/experts--assess-benefits-and-harms-of-exercise-for-preventing-falls-in-older-people/New evidence published in the Cochrane Library today provides strong evidence that falls in people over sixty-years old can be prevented by exercise programmes. Falls are a leading cause of accidental or unintentional injury deaths worldwide. Older adults suffer the greatest number of fatal falls and over 37 million falls are severe enough to require medical attention each year.
]]>Falls are a leading cause of accidental or unintentional injury deaths worldwide. Older adults suffer the greatest number of fatal falls and over 37 million falls are severe enough to require medical attention each year.

A review by the Cochrane Bone, Joint and Muscle Trauma Group, based at The University of Manchester UK, was conducted by a team comprising researchers from the University of Sydney in Australia and University of Oxford, UK, summarizes the results from 108 randomized controlled trials with 23,407 participants from across 25 countries. The average age of the participants in the studies was 76 years old and three quarters of them were women. Eighty-one of these trials compared exercise (all types) versus a control intervention (doing no exercise or minimal gentle exercise that is not thought to reduce falls) in people living independently at home, in retirement villages, or in sheltered accommodation.

The review looked at two different ways of measuring falls. Firstly, they found that exercise reduces the number of falls over time by around a quarter (23% reduction). This means that if there were 850 falls among 1000 older people doing no fall-preventive exercise during one year, there would be 195 fewer falls among people who were undertaking fall-prevention exercise. They also found that exercise reduces the number of people experiencing one or more falls (number of fallers) by around a sixth (15% reduction). For example, if 480 out of 1000 people experienced one or more falls over 1 year, participating in exercise programmes would reduce the number of fallers by 72 people.

The review found that exercise programmes carried out in group classes or done at home prescribed by a health professional (such as a physiotherapist) or a trained exercise leader were effective. Exercises were mostly done while standing as this better enhances balance and the ability to do daily activities such as standing up from a low chair or climbing stairs. Some effective exercise programmes also used weights to make the exercises harder.

The results of the studies varied so the researchers assessed different types of exercise programmes to see how they compared. There is high certainty evidence that programmes that mainly involve balance and functional exercises reduce falls, while there was less certainty about programmes that include multiple exercise categories (most commonly balance and functional exercises plus resistance exercises). Tai Chi may also prevent falls but there is uncertain evidence on the effectiveness of resistance exercises (without balance and functional exercises) including dance or walking .

The certainty of the evidence for the overall effect of exercise on preventing falls was high. However, the findings that exercise reduces fractures and the need for medical attention are less certain, reflecting in part the relatively small number of studies and participants for those outcomes.

The reporting of the side effects of exercise in the trials was limited but when side effects were reported they were usually not serious, such as joint or muscle pain; however, one trial reported a pelvic stress fracture.

Author, Professor Cathie Sherrington from The University of Sydney, Institute for Musculoskeletal Health

said: “This evidence helps build an even stronger picture that exercise can help prevent older people having falls. It also illustrates which types of exercise can be beneficial. It is well known that keeping active promotes good health but this review pinpoints which types of exercise are more likely to be effective for preventing falls.”

“More work is needed to establish the impact of exercise on fall-related fractures and falls requiring medical attention because such falls have major impacts for the individual and are particularly costly to health systems. Further research is also required to establish the effectiveness of fall prevention programmes in emerging economies where the burden of falls is increasing more rapidly than in developed countries due to rapidly ageing populations.”

This Cochrane Review was supported by the Cochrane Bone, Joint and Muscle Trauma Group, based at the University of Manchester , and Cochrane’s Accident and Emergency Care Network. This project was partly funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) via Cochrane Infrastructure funding to the Cochrane Group. Additional funding for the review was via the National Institute for Health Research (UK): NIHR Cochrane Reviews of NICE Priority scheme, project reference: NIHR127512. The views and opinions expressed therein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Systematic Reviews Programme, NIHR, NHS or the Department of Health. Australian National Health and Medical Research Council Fellowships provided salary funding for several of the authors.

Dr Joanne Elliott from the University of Manchester and Managing Editor, said: "Over the years,our Cochrane Group has played a pivotal role in the generation of systematic reviews of the evidence for interventions for preventing falls in older people. This latest review reinforces the key role of exercise and, crucially, shows which types of exercise are more likely to be effective for preventing falls."

]]>headlines,medicine,healthFri, 01 Feb 2019 09:05:00 +0000https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1369/500_elderlyman.jpg?10000New digitally-enhanced service for people with heart failure to be trialled in Greater Manchester https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/new-digitally-enhanced-service-for-people-with-heart-failure-to-be-trialled-in-greater-manchester/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/new-digitally-enhanced-service-for-people-with-heart-failure-to-be-trialled-in-greater-manchester/Around 1,000 patients with heart failure across Greater Manchester will be monitored by a new digitally-enhanced service that will use data from existing implantable devices to transform care and better meet their needs.
]]>Around 1,000 patients with heart failure across Greater Manchester will be monitored by a new digitally-enhanced service that will use data from existing implantable devices to transform care and better meet their needs.

Health Data Research UK (HDR UK) has today (31 January 2019) announced that ten innovative data solutions will receive a share of £3 million Government funding following a UK-wide competition, with £338,000 being allocated to Greater Manchester. The projects are funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) as part of the government’s modern Industrial Strategy, which aims to tackle the big societal and industrial challenges of today such as an ageing population.

Health Innovation Manchester has developed the heart failure project through an innovative partnership between Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, the University of Manchester, global medical devices company Medtronic and clinical trials specialists North West EHealth.

Heart failure means that the heart is unable to pump blood around the body properly, usually because it has become too weak or stiff, and requires intervention such as medication, a medical device or surgery. In one year alone, 4,330 admissions to hospitals in Greater Manchester were related to heart failure, with treatment costing more than £17 million. However, by better understanding and supporting the patient to manage their condition this could be much less.

The new digital innovation project builds on the existing heart failure and device service at Manchester Heart Centre, at Manchester Royal Infirmary. Around 1,000 Greater Manchester patients already have an implantable device such as a pacemaker or defibrillator which captures information about their health. As part of the project, the clinical team will work closely with Medtronic, the company which provides the devices, to use the data to try and detect signs of deterioration earlier and to transform care for the patient.

Dr Fozia Ahmed, Consultant Cardiologist at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust and clinical lead for the project, said: “We have been evaluating the use of this novel device-based pathway to identify patients with worsening heart failure for nearly three years. This project looks at how we can potentially align the technology that sits within implanted devices to benefit the patient by identifying potential problems at an earlier timepoint. To date, 7/10 patients were found to have issues that required treatment. By making better use of the patient data available we hope to radically improve the effectiveness and accuracy of patient care, ultimately improving care pathways.”

Prof Ben Bridgewater, Chief Executive of Health Innovation Manchester and a former cardiac surgeon, commented: “We are maximising the benefits of digital technology to deliver 21st century healthcare to the 21st century patient, which can only be delivered through a collaboration between the NHS, academia and industry. This is precisely what Health Innovation Manchester was set up to do, further strengthened by our uniquely devolved health and social care system, digital capabilities and life sciences cluster. Once tested, we will seek to adopt and spread the model so that all patients with heart failure benefit.”

Jackie Fielding, Vice President UK and Ireland Medtronic Ltd, said: “We are delighted to be partnering with the Manchester Health Economy, Dr Fozia Ahmed and Health Innovation Manchester to explore the use of our remote monitoring technology in improving health outcomes for patients living with heart failure. TRIAGE HF and the Medtronic CareLink System have a high diagnostic accuracy to identify patients with worsening heart failure and are currently being used as a heart failure management tool at Manchester Royal Infirmary.

“By identifying patients at an earlier time-point it creates a window of opportunity in which to optimise heart failure therapies, and there is a strong signal that it could prevent a problem, such as worsening heart failure, from turning into a crisis resulting in an unplanned heart failure admission. Greater Manchester’s devolved healthcare system creates a unique opportunity to scale up digital health opportunities at pace to the benefit of the wider population. As our systems move towards a more sustainable, value based healthcare approach, it’s crucial that healthcare providers are reimbursed on outcomes that matter to patients and thus improve their quality of life.”

John Ainsworth, from The University of Manchester, Professor of Health Informatics and project academic lead, said: “Together with our NHS and industry partners, we will test a new way of working that promises to enable rapid translation of data science research into practice leading to better care and improved outcomes for patients.”

North West EHealth will support the project by identifying other patients who may benefit in future using data analytics. Prof Martin Gibson, Chief Executive Officer, commented: “We are delighted to be involved in this important project and to be able to support patients being able to access these exciting new technologies and systems of care”

The project is set to go live in February.

]]>headlines,health,NHS,Medicine,ResearchThu, 31 Jan 2019 12:04:01 +0000https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1369/500_31.1.19heartfailuresprintbid-134498.jpg?10000 Oldham scientist rallies residents to unite for World Cancer Dayhttps://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/oldham-scientist--rallies-residents-to-unite-for-world-cancer-day/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/oldham-scientist--rallies-residents-to-unite-for-world-cancer-day/An Oldham scientist is backing Cancer Research UK’s campaign for World Cancer Day and is urging everyone to join her. Habiba Begum, from the Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute, part of The University of Manchester, is encouraging local people to wear one of the charity’s brightly coloured Unity Bands with pride on Monday, February 4.
]]>An Oldham scientist is backing Cancer Research UK’s campaign for World Cancer Day and is urging everyone to join her.

Habiba Begum, from the Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute, part of The University of Manchester, is encouraging local people to wear one of the charity’s brightly coloured Unity Bands with pride on Monday, February 4.

Volunteers from the Cancer Research UK Oldham Committee will be holding a collection for World Cancer Day at Greenfield Tesco in Chadderton on Saturday 2 and February 3 February on where shoppers will be able to pick up a Unity Band.

The bands are also available for a suggested donation of £2 from WHSmiths and Peacocks in Oldham as well as at all Cancer Research UK shops in the North West and online at cruk.org/worldcancerday

Habiba, a former Hathershaw College and Oldham Sixth Form student, from Oldham, said: “Every hour, around five people are diagnosed with cancer in the North West of England* so by wearing a Unity Band, people can show their support for those affected.

“As a cancer scientist, I know first-hand the impact the disease has on individuals and families. That’s why I’m inviting everyone to be part of a movement that can help make a real difference to so many people’s lives.”

A Unity Band is a wristband which symbolises solidarity with people affected by cancer.

Available in three different colours – pink, navy and blue – it can be worn in memory of a loved one, to celebrate people who’ve overcome cancer or in support of those going through treatment.This powerful accessory in the fight against the disease, raises money through donations to help fund crucial cancer research, like the work being carried out in Greater Manchester.Habiba works as a cell biologist in the Drug Discovery Unit at the Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute – part of The University of Manchester - currently housed at Alderley Park, in Cheshire. She is playing an important role as part of a team helping to develop cancer drugs of the future for patients.

Last year, Cancer Research UK spent over £28 million in the North West on some of the UK’s leading scientific and clinical research - helping more men, women and children survive cancer.

Marked on February 4, World Cancer Day is designed to raise awareness of cancer and to promote its prevention, detection and treatment.

Thanks to research, more people are surviving the disease than ever before. Survival has doubled in the last 40 years in the UK and Cancer Research UK’s work has been at the heart of that progress.

But the charity needs everyone to act right now to help speed up advances which will help people spend more precious time with their loved ones.

Alison Barbuti, Cancer Research UK spokesperson for Oldham and Greater Manchester, said: “Banding together on World Cancer Day is a unique way for people in Oldham and Greater Manchester to unite with the rest of the UK, and the world. It’s a chance to show that together, we will beat cancer.

“One in two people born after 1960 in the UK will be diagnosed with the disease at some point in their lifetime, so we need as many people as possible to help back our doctors, scientists and nurses on the frontline against cancer.

“Wearing a Unity Band is a simple, easy way to raise vital funds, accelerate progress and save more lives. Small actions can make a big difference.”

]]>headlines,cancer,researrch,medicine,healthWed, 30 Jan 2019 14:03:00 +0000https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1369/500_1habibabegumfromthecancerresearchukmanchesterinstitute-538047.jpg?10000Newborn babies have inbuilt ability to pick out words, finds studyhttps://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/newborn-babies-have-inbuilt-ability-to-pick-out-words-finds-study/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/newborn-babies-have-inbuilt-ability-to-pick-out-words-finds-study/A research study of newborn babies has revealed that humans are born with the innate skills needed to pick out words from language.
]]>A research study of newborn babies has revealed that humans are born with the innate skills needed to pick out words from language.

The international team of researchers discovered two mechanisms in 3-day-old infants, which give them the skills to pick out words in a stream of sounds.

The discovery provides a key insight into a first step to learning language.

The study, published in Developmental Science, is a collaboration between scientists at SISSA in Italy, the Neurospin Centre in France, the University of Liverpool and The University of Manchester. It was funded by the European Research Council.

One of the mechanisms discovered by the team is known as prosody- the melody of language, which allow us to recognise when a word starts and stops.

And another they call the statistics of language, which describes how we compute the frequency of when sounds in a word come together.

Dr Alissa Ferry from The University of Manchester said: “We think this study highlights how sentient newborn babies really are and how much information they are absorbing.

”That’s quite important for new parents and gives them some insight into how their baby is listening to them.”

Dr Ana Flò of Neurospin said: “Language in incredibly complicated and this study is about understanding how infants try to make sense of it when they first hear it.

“We often think of language as being made up of words, but words often blur together when we talk. So one of the first steps to learn language is to pick out the words.

“Our study shows that at just 3 days old, without understanding what it means, they are able pick out individual words from speech.

“And we have identified two important tools that we are almost certainly born with, that gives them the ability to do this.”

The researchers played the infants a 3 and a half minute audio clip in which four meaningless words, were buried in a stream of syllables.

Using a painless technique called Near-Infrared Spectroscopy, which shines light into the brain, they were able to measure how much was absorbed, telling them which parts of the brain were active.

Dr Perrine Brusini of the University of Liverpool noted: “We then had the infants listen to individual words and found that their brains responded differently to the words that they heard than to slightly different words.

“This showed that even from birth infants can pick out individual words from language.

]]>headlines,psychology,health,researchMon, 28 Jan 2019 16:51:00 +0000https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1369/500_newborn.jpg?10000Scientists bring new insight into how animals seehttps://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/scientists-bring-new-insight-into--how-animals-see/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/scientists-bring-new-insight-into--how-animals-see/Scientists from The University of Manchester have found a way to trick the eye into thinking the world is brighter than it actually is.
]]>Scientists from The University of Manchester have found a way to trick the eye into thinking the world is brighter than it actually is.

Using a chemical compound, the team activated a small group of retinal neurons in dim light, which unexpectedly made almost the whole retina more active.

Though more research is needed, the study provides new insight into how the retina communicates with the brain when animals respond to different situations.

The retina is a thin layer of tissue that lines the back of the eye which receives light focused by the lens, and convert it into neural signals which are sent to the brain.

The manipulation, carried out in mice, effectively increased the “bandwidth” of communication from the retina to the brain.

The research was funded by Medical Research Council, European Research Council and the National Centre for Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animal Research (NC3Rs). It is published in published in PNAS.

The discovery led by Professor Rob Lucas from The University of Manchester, uncovers an important principle underlying the way in which different areas of the nervous system communicate with each other.

Retinal neurons convey visual information to the brain a sequence of electrical pulses

Using the analogy of a digital communication channel, neural communication uses up a lot of energy so its bandwidth must be optimised according to changes in demand.

Since the 1990s, scientists have shown that on average brain activity is limited to between 1 to 5 electrical pulses per second per neuron.

However at any given time, some parts of the brain may demand many more pulses to perform optimally.

Dr Riccardo Storchi, who was on the team said: “This discovery provides some important insight into a simple mechanism by which flexible allocation of energy resources is regulated by the retina.

“This effect is mediated by specialist neurons known as ‘intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells’ (ipRGCs) which act like a light-meter, regulating communication between retina and the brain.

“We have known for a while that neuron pulses are energetically expensive, but until now we didn’t understand what regulates their frequency. This is a first step which we hope will tackle this important question.”

The paper Photoreceptive retinal ganglion cells control the information rate of the optic nerve is available here

]]>headlines,eyes,health,medicine,biology,research,animal researchFri, 25 Jan 2019 15:04:28 +0000https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1369/500_eyeshot.jpg?10000Growing social fragmentation driven by rising single people and private rentershttps://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/growing-social-fragmentation-driven-by-rising-single-people-and-private-renters/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/growing-social-fragmentation-driven-by-rising-single-people-and-private-renters/A University of Manchester study into social fragmentation in England using data from the last two censuses has revealed an increase from 2001 to 2011, especially for the North of England.
]]>A University of Manchester study into social fragmentation in England using data from the last two censuses has revealed an increase from 2001 to 2011, especially for the North of England.

The rise was mainly driven by increases in the average number of single people across the country and the numbers of privately rented households across the country.

Between 2001 and 2011, there was a 7.5% increase in single people and a 90% increase in the privately rented household statistic, say the research team.

The study, says its authors, has profound implications on mental health provision in England.

Social fragmentation, the absence of connections between individuals and society, was defined by the team as the numbers of private renters, single people, migrants and one person households in a community.

London, Yorkshire and Humber and the South Central, the study found, had the largest increases in private renting. Similarly, the North East, West Midlands and West Midlands had the largest increases in single people. London, however, had the highest levels on both factors.

Local neighbourhoods in Liverpool, Sheffield, Manchester and Leeds had the highest levels of social fragmentation in the country in 2011.

London had the most neighbourhoods ranking high in social fragmentation and five Local Authorities with the highest levels were all in London. They were City of London, Westminster, Kensington and Chelsea, Camden, Hammersmith and Fulham.

In comparison, areas in Northumberland, Warrington, Kettering, Solihull and the Southend-On-Sea had the lowest levels of social fragmentation. The Local Authorities of Rochford, Chiltern, East Dorset, South Staffordshire, and Hart were the least fragmented.

The study, published in BMJ Open, also found that urban areas are more socially divided than the countryside, where people are more likely to lead more isolated lifestyles.

Migration, however, did not appear to impact on levels of social fragmentation - as measured by the numbers of people that move into an area from within the UK and the numbers of people who move into an area from outside the UK.

Health economist Christos Grigoroglou says the increases in private renting are likely to be a result of poor availability of social housing, unaffordable housing for ‘generation rent’, increasingly common short term employment and rising student numbers.

And the increase in the numbers of young professionals, students and divorces over the period are likely to have contributed to the rising numbers of single people.

The PhD Student said: “Private renting and single people have been long recognised as having an impact on social fragmentation- especially in mental health.

“Single people are also known to suffer from worse mental health outcomes.

”This study shows how these factors have become more prominent in recent years, impacting significantly on levels of social fragmentation.

Data scientist Professor Evan Kontopantelis said: “Higher levels of social fragmentation have long been linked with suicide, self-harm, mental disorders, and psychiatric health service use.

“Therefore, understanding social fragmentation can be a powerful aid to the organisation of healthcare services, by identifying areas that need to be targeted from social and healthcare interventions.

“Of particular interest is mental health and interventions to improve it, since social fragmentation appears to be a salient risk factor for poor mental health.”

]]>headlines,health,mental health,research,social affairsFri, 25 Jan 2019 11:10:51 +0000https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1369/500_spatialmapofsocialfragmentationforgreatermanchester2011-328474.jpg?10000Dr Amanda Lamb named on the prestigious Northern Power Women list for champions of equality and diversityhttps://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/dr-amanda-lamb-named-on-the-prestigious-northern-power-women-list-for-champions-of-equality-and-diversity/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/dr-amanda-lamb-named-on-the-prestigious-northern-power-women-list-for-champions-of-equality-and-diversity/Dr Amanda Lamb, Chief Operating Officer of Connected Health Cities (CHC) at The University of Manchester, has been named by Northern Power Women as one of 100 women who contribute to making a difference in their communities and raise awareness of gender equality across the North of England.
]]>Dr Amanda Lamb, Chief Operating Officer of Connected Health Cities (CHC) at The University of Manchester, has been named by Northern Power Women as one of 100 women who contribute to making a difference in their communities and raise awareness of gender equality across the North of England.

Amanda, who is a founding member of CHC and has driven the team science approach to equality throughout the implementation of the CHC Method, is featured on the Future list which recognises the influencers and change makers of the future who are already making a difference in their environments and communities. The Future list is sponsored by design consultancy Morson Group. Amanda was also nominated in 3 other categories including transformational leader and the power list.

Amanda said “I am absolutely delighted to be named amongst this list of amazing change makers. I have been incredibly fortunate to be in a position where I have been able to influence the structure and balance of our teams for many years. I am a huge champion of a team science approach which values the skills a person can bring to a team rather than their position in a hierarchy. This approach ensures that we can give visibility and a voice to underrepresented groups.”

“I hope that I will be able to use this platform of the Northern Power Future List to be able to work with other influencers to ensure we keep driving change for the benefit of all.”

Simone Roche MBE, founder of Northern Power Women said: ‘I am extremely proud of these role models. They are amazing people doing fantastic work and they deserve every bit of recognition. Without the women on our Future and Power List it would be impossible for us to do what we do across the North. Each person named has played a part in driving forward the NPW agenda and have helped push out the boundaries.’

CHC is also delighted that Dr Liz Mear, CEO Innovation Agency and Director for the Northwest Coast Regional Connected Health City, has been named amongst the Power List. To find out more read here.

The award ceremony will take place on 18th March 2019 at Manchester Convention Complex.

Connected Health Cities (CHCs) safely and securely combines population data and technology to address chronic disease burdens and reduce early mortality across the North of England. Uniting experts from academia, NHS and industry CHC is improving services for patients and building public partnerships founded on trust and transparency. Funded by the Department of Health and commissioned by the Northern Health Science Alliance (NHSA), The University of Manchester coordinates four CHC regions located in the North East and North Cumbria, the North West Coast, Greater Manchester and Yorkshire.

]]>headlines,health,medicineWed, 23 Jan 2019 13:12:17 +0000https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1369/500_dramandalamb-143229.jpg?10000Manchester scientists set to take on cancer's 'grand challenge'https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/manchester-scientists-set-to-take-on--cancers-grand-challenge/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/manchester-scientists-set-to-take-on--cancers-grand-challenge/Researchers set to receive over £2 million funding from Cancer Research UKManchester scientists are set to benefit from one of the biggest funding grants ever awarded by Cancer Research UK.
]]>Manchester scientists are set to benefit from one of the biggest funding grants ever awarded by Cancer Research UK.

Researchers at the Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute, part of The University of Manchester, are set to receive over £2 million as part of a £19 million investment by the charity in a five-year global research project to investigate why some cancers are specific to certain tissues and not others.

The funding for the ground-breaking research will come from Cancer Research UK’s Grand Challenge awards – set up to revolutionise the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer.

The Manchester scientists are part of a team of experts from Glasgow, the US and the Netherlands who beat stiff international competition to secure the funding.

They will bring their world-leading expertise in skin cancer to the pioneering project which was selected by an international panel of experts from a shortlist of ten exceptional, multi-disciplinary collaborations from universities, institutes and industry across the globe.

Professor Richard Marais, Director of the Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute, currently based at Alderley Park in Cheshire, said: “We are delighted to be part of Cancer Research UK’s Grand Challenge. This award endorses Manchester’s position in the global fight against cancer. It will allow us to answer fundamental questions about cancer biology, how it is caused in different tissues and why particular cancers kill some people but not others. This is not something we could do by ourselves, so being part of this international team is important to our success.”

The international project team is looking to understand why genetic faults only affect certain tissues.

If someone carries a potentially cancer-causing gene mutation, this fault can exist in every cell of the body, but only causes specific cancers, such as breast or skin. The team is studying why this is the case and will use this information to find ways to prevent or treat cancer in these organs.

Professor Marais continued: “My team will be looking at DNA damage in skin cancer. We want to understand why a particular type of DNA damage causes the most-deadly type of skin cancer, melanoma, but not squamous cell carcinoma, a more common form of skin cancer.

“Sharing the knowledge gained by different researchers in the consortium will give us an insight as to why particular-types of DNA damage drive different cancers in different parts of the body.”

The research has been welcomed by North West head and neck cancer survivor Chris Curtis, from Blackpool, who played an important role in developing the team’s research proposal.

Father-of-two Mr Curtis, 60, was diagnosed with head and neck cancer in 2001 and went on to undergo radiotherapy, chemotherapy and have two major operations. He was part of the Grand Challenge Patient Advocate Panel.

Mr Curtis said: “It’s great to see such a large investment in this area of research and to have scientists from the North West playing a part in this international project.

“I was particularly impressed with the scientists’ passion. For me, knowing this is going to help tomorrow’s patients is very important. This research could make a real difference in the future.”

The project is also supported through a partnership with The Mark Foundation for Cancer Research,* based in New York.

Alison Barbuti, Cancer Research UK’s spokesperson for the North West, said: “Grand Challenge gives us the perfect opportunity to address complex questions and cross new frontiers in our understanding of cancer, to transform the lives of patients.

“People in Manchester and the North West have every right to feel proud of the world-class research taking place on their doorstep and of their fundraising efforts, which are helping to beat cancer.”

There are lots of different ways people across the North West can continue to support pioneering research into cancer, including:

Joining one of the Race for Life events taking place across Greater Manchester and the North West. This year, men are invited to take part in the event series for the first time, alongside women and children.

Getting and wearing a Cancer Research UK Unity Band on World Cancer Day (February 4)

Committing to be more active with Walk All Over Cancer

Volunteering at a local Cancer Research UK shop

Feature image: Cancer survivor Chris Curtis

]]>headlines,cancer,research,health,medicine,topbannerWed, 23 Jan 2019 09:53:00 +0000https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1369/500_cancersurvivorchriscurtisisbackingthefundingboost-674694.jpg?10000Fears over life-saving drug unfounded, finds reviewhttps://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/fears-over-life-saving-drug-unfounded-finds-review/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/fears-over-life-saving-drug-unfounded-finds-review/Fears over a drug that can be used to treat alcohol addiction are unfounded, according to its first ever systematic review, led by academics at The University of Manchester.
]]>Fears over a drug that can be used to treat alcohol addiction are unfounded, according to its first ever systematic review, led by academics at The University of Manchester.

Though the study found no evidence of any serious side effects linked to Naltrexone, many doctors hold back from prescribing the drug, often citing liver toxicity as a reason.

The review of 89 placebo controlled randomized clinical trials of naltrexone is based on 11,194 participants published in BMC Medicine.

Lead author Dr Monica Bolton, who conducted the research as part of her Master’s degree at Manchester said: “Though naltrexone is licensed for the treatment of alcohol addiction, it remains under-utilized.

“And that has devastating consequences for individuals, health and social services in the UK and around the world.

“As far as we know there is only one contraindication: painkilling opiates, such as codeine. These should not be taken with naltrexone, as it works by blocking opiates in the brain.

“Up to 58% of alcohol-dependent people in England want to reduce their drinking, and this drug could help them succeed.

“It is cost effective and could reduce deaths.”

According to the Office of National Statistics there were 7,697 alcohol-specific deaths in the UK in 2017, or 12.2 deaths per 100,000 population.

The Department of Health estimates the NHS costs of alcohol related problems as £3.5 billion every year.

Dr Alex Hodkinson from The University of Manchester said: “Previous research shows that naltrexone is prescribed to less than 0.5% of those eligible.

“And only 11.7% of those diagnosed with more severe forms of alcohol dependence received relevant drug therapy in the 12 months following diagnosis.

“Like all drugs for alcohol addiction, the chaotic nature of being an addict means this drug is simply not prescribed as much as it should be.

“It’s also a cultural issue: there is a reluctance to prescribe one drug to combat addiction in another substance.

“Our review also shows that fears over side-effects are unfounded.”

Naltrexone is being investigated for a range of other conditions such as other addictions, gambling and other impulse control disorders.

Anecdotal evidence also suggests that at a very low dose, it may also be able to treat a range of immune-modulated conditions including Crohn’s disease, HIV, multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS).

In the UK, around 1,400 NHS prescriptions for LDN are issued per year while over 12,000 people have received a private prescription in the last 10 years.

However, Dr Bolton argues that more research is needed to understand if the drug is effective for these conditions.

She said: “As it is safe, cheap and long out of patent, naltrexone would seem an excellent candidate for repurposing for a whole range of conditions.

“That is why it is imperative to find ways to fund clinical trials to test if it might one day be possible to license it.

”The problem is, it is extremely difficult to repurpose existing drugs - and naltrexone is just one example of many wasted opportunities to treat people and save the NHS money.”

]]>headlines,research,health,medicine,addictionTue, 15 Jan 2019 07:01:54 +0000https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1369/500_drugandalcohol.jpg?10000Researchers discover common markers of tumour hypoxia across 19 cancer typeshttps://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/researchers-discover-common-markers-of-tumour-hypoxia-across-19-cancer-types/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/researchers-discover-common-markers-of-tumour-hypoxia-across-19-cancer-types/Landmark pan-cancer study analyzes mutation signatures of low oxygen in more than 8,000 tumours Unlike healthy tissues, tumours thrive in low-oxygen environments, often acquiring the ability to resist treatment and spread to other sites in the body. Despite being a well-known cause of therapy resistance and metastasis, the impact of low oxygen, known as hypoxia, on tumour cells is poorly understood. As reported today in Nature Genetics, researchers have discovered molecular hallmarks of hypoxia in the first-ever pan-cancer analysis of low oxygen in human tumours, with a special focus on prostate cancer.
]]>Unlike healthy tissues, tumours thrive in low-oxygen environments, often acquiring the ability to resist treatment and spread to other sites in the body. Despite being a well-known cause of therapy resistance and metastasis, the impact of low oxygen, known as hypoxia, on tumour cells is poorly understood. As reported today in Nature Genetics, researchers have discovered molecular hallmarks of hypoxia in the first-ever pan-cancer analysis of low oxygen in human tumours, with a special focus on prostate cancer.

The study investigated more than 8,000 human tumours across 19 different cancer types, including prostate tumours from the Canadian Prostate Cancer Genome Network (CPC-GENE). The authors discovered common markers of hypoxia that could help predict cancer aggressiveness and inform treatment decisions.

These findings, which include several genes more commonly mutated in hypoxic cancers and new information about hypoxia-related patterns of tumour evolution, make up the largest resource available for hypoxia research.

“If we look at any single aspect of cancer, we only gain a partial understanding of this complex disease. But here we’ve exploited a wealth of human tumour data to gain a more comprehensive understanding,” says Vinayak Bhandari, lead author of this study and PhD Candidate at the University of Toronto, who is conducting research at the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research (OICR). “By tying together our new understanding of the environment in which tumours develop with detailed evaluation of genetic changes, we created a biological signature that highlights patients who may benefit from more therapy.”

The markers observed in this study also open new opportunities for researchers to develop therapies that target hypoxia-related treatment resistance and metastasis across many types of cancer, including prostate cancer.

“Understanding common genomic traits across cancer types is critically important to the future of cancer diagnosis and treatment,” says Dr. Paul Boutros, senior investigator of the study and now at the University of California, Los Angeles. “We were initially motivated by the inability to differentiate between aggressive and non-aggressive prostate cancers, but our findings provide insights into how treatments might be developed for many tumour types.”

“Hypoxia was previously associated with aggressive disease, but the mechanisms by which it drives this process in human tumours was poorly understood from a genetic angle,” says Professor Rob Bristow, a Director at the Manchester Cancer Research and CRUK Manchester Centres at The University of Manchester, formerly at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network. “We can now start to exploit these findings into novel clinical trials to target hypoxia and abnormal genetics at the same time,” explained Bristow, who with Boutros, were former Co-Leads of the CPC-GENE project.

The study was supported by the Movember Foundation, Prostate Cancer Canada and OICR through CPC-GENE – the largest prostate cancer genomics project in the world. The project was also funded by the Terry Fox Research Institute. Tumour sample data was provided by CPC-GENE, the International Cancer Genome Consortium and The Cancer Genome Atlas project.

]]>headlines,cancer,health,research,medicineMon, 14 Jan 2019 16:00:00 +0000https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1369/500_uom-research-011214-0373.jpg?10000GPs prescribe more opioids for pain in poor Northern areas, study revealshttps://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/gps-prescribe-more-opioids-for-pain-in-poor-northern-areas-study-reveals/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/gps-prescribe-more-opioids-for-pain-in-poor-northern-areas-study-reveals/English patients living in poorer areas are likely to be prescribed more opioids by their GPs, according to a study led by University of Manchester and University of Nottingham researchers.
]]>English patients living in poorer areas are likely to be prescribed more opioids by their GPs, according to a study led by University of Manchester and University of Nottingham researchers.

The research also shows how smoking, obesity and depression are all associated with more prescribing of the drugs for problems such as lower back pain and arthritis.

The study, published in the International Journal of Drug Policy today, is a snapshot of 2015 data from the Office of National Statistics’ Index of Multiple Deprivation and a NHS Digital’s database of about 7,000 GP practices.

Also according to the research team, three out of the highest five GP areas for opioid prescribing are based in the North West of England.

GPs in NHS Blackpool CCG and NHS St Helens CCG prescribe the highest levels of opioids in England. One area in North East England and four areas in the North West are among the top ten highest prescribers.

Lead researcher Dr Li-Chia Chen, a Senior Lecturer at Manchester, says the study is the first to quantify the association between opioid use and socioeconomic status in England.

Opioid overdosing of drugs including Fentanyl, Morphine, Oxycodone, Tramadol and Codeine have risen dramatically in the West over the past two decades.

However, the association between mortality and opioid use is not easy to study, as the official definition of opioid-related deaths is not the same as opioid-overdose death. Also, GP records do not capture the full picture of prescription opioids use.

Ranking English areas into 10 levels of deprivation, the average use of morphine increase 100 mg per 1000 patients per day when going from wealthy to poor by just 1 level.

An increase in numbers of smokers of just 1% is associated with an increase in the average use of morphine by 130 mg per 1000 patients per day.

An increase in numbers of patients with depression of 1% is associated with an increase in the average use of morphine by 43 mg per 1000 patients per day.

And an increase in numbers of obese patients of 1% is associated with an increase in the average use of morphine by 36 mg per 1000 patients per day.

Dr Li-Chia Chen said: “Chronic pain is difficult to manage and unfortunately, because their workload pressures are so stringent, GPs have limited capacity to counsel patients with persistent pain.”

“This might explain why drug therapy is the main way how GPs manage pain.”

“There’s no guarantee that long term use of opioid analgesics can resolve chronic pain. Indeed the risk of opioids’ side-effects such as dependency, respiratory depression and immunosuppression may sometimes outweigh the potential benefits.”

She added: “Social prescribing such meditation and acupuncture may be helpful, but little is available on the NHS.”

“We also feel it is essential to integrate pain management services with an interdisciplinary team approach.”

“Pharmacists could also play a vital role in pain management and, in our view, are an underused resource.”

Co-author Dr Roger Knaggs, Associate Professor in Clinical Pharmacy Practice at the University of Nottingham said: “Opioids are some of the most potent medicines for pain relief available at present, however they do not work for all types of pain or for everybody.

“Whilst they often are of help for pain following injury or an operation, and for pain at the end of life, there are only modest benefits for many types of chronic pain, such as back pain, arthritis and nerve (neuropathic) pain.”

“The results from our study confirm the substantial variation in opioid prescribing throughout the UK from two other studies published earlier in 2018.

“We need to understand more about why opioids are prescribed more commonly in areas of greater deprivation and to ensure there is collaboration between different parts of the healthcare system to provide appropriate services and support are available for people who are prescribed opioids.”

Co-author Dr Teng-Chou Chen, from The University of Manchester said: “This study shows that the socioeconomic status has a strong association with opioids prescribing for pain.”

“We suppose an average manual worker, which is common in socially deprived areas, is more likely to have musculoskeletal problems, and therefore needs opioids.”

“Smoking and depression are also more prevalent in poorer areas, but whatever the causes, it’s clear that people living in more deprived areas are at a higher risk of overdose, and it is helpful for clinicians to be aware of this.”

Dr Chen is also studying opioid prescribing internationally and will be publishing his results this year.

]]>headlines,pharmacy,health,medicine,researchMon, 14 Jan 2019 15:11:01 +0000https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1369/500_backpain.jpg?10000Child abuse linked to risk of suicide in later lifehttps://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/child-abuse-linked-to-risk-of-suicide-in-later-life/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/child-abuse-linked-to-risk-of-suicide-in-later-life/Children who experience physical, sexual, and emotional abuse or neglect are at least two to three times more likely to attempt suicide in later life, according to the largest research review carried out of the topic.
]]>Children who experience physical, sexual, and emotional abuse or neglect are at least two to three times more likely to attempt suicide in later life, according to the largest research review carried out of the topic.

The analysis of 68 studies by psychologists at the University of Manchester and University of South Wales revealed that suicide attempts were:

Three times more likely for people who experienced sexual abuse as a child

Two and a half times more likely for people who experienced physical abuse as a child

Two and a half times more likely for people who experienced emotional abuse or neglect as a child

Also from the research published in Psychological Medicine today, children who experienced multiple abuse are as much as five times higher to attempt suicide.

And as those people who experienced abuse as children get older, the risk of suicide attempts increases.

People not in contact with mental health clinicians were found to be at the highest level of risk.

The sixty-eight studies were carried out across the world, producing about 262 thousand adults aged 18 years or older, who were exposed to childhood abuse and neglect.

Dr Maria Panagioti, from The University of Manchester, also based at the NIHR Greater Manchester patient safety translational research centre, led the research team.

She said: “Around one adult in every three has experienced abuse as a child”.

“This study conclusively gives us solid evidence that childhood abuse and neglect is associated with increased likelihood that they will be at risk of suicide as adults.

“And that has important implications on healthcare. Other studies have shown that in the US, for example, the economic burden of childhood maltreatment is estimated to be around $124 billion.”

“Current treatment for people with suicidal behaviour usually centres around Cognitive Behavioural Therapy.

“But that assumes people will seek help themselves. This research identifies that people who are not under the care of clinicians are at risk.

“So, we need a new approach to identify these people and to focus our efforts on effective community intervention.

Dr Ioannis Angelakis from the University of South Wales said: “These findings not only provided a clear picture of the connection between abuse or neglect in childhood and suicide attempts later on in life, but also recognised that efficient interventions should take a broader community-based approach.”

The paper Childhood maltreatment and adult suicidality: A comprehensive systematic review with meta-analysis is published in Psychological Medicine

]]>headlines,health,medicine,mental health,sucide,abuseWed, 09 Jan 2019 10:00:00 +0000https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1369/500_shutterstock-370075760.jpg?10000New Year Honours for University peoplehttps://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/new-years-honours-for-university-people/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/new-years-honours-for-university-people/Professor Fiona Devine has been made a CBE in the New Year Honours as has honorary lecturer in dentistry, Dr Claire Stevens.
]]>Professor Fiona Devinehas been made a CBE in the New Year Honours as has honorary lecturer in dentistry, Dr Claire Stevens.

Fiona Devine, who was awarded her honour for services to the social sciences, is Head of Alliance Manchester Business School and Professor of Sociology at The University of Manchester. She was previously Head of Sociology (2004-7), Head of the School of Social Sciences (2009-13) and Co-Director of Centre for Research on Socio-Cultural Change (CRESC) (2012-4) at the University which she first joined in 1994. Prior to Manchester she worked at the University of Liverpool, the Policy Studies Institute, and the former Department of Employment in London. She studied Sociology and Government as an undergraduate at the University of Essex where she also completed an MA and PhD.

Fiona's research interests are in the related fields of social stratification and mobility (with a comparative focus including the US), work and employment, and politics and participation. With a team of colleagues from the LSE, York, Durham and MMU, she was involved in the BBC’s Great British Class Survey, an online survey completed by over 300,000 thousand people and a class calculator completed by 9 million people. The results have appeared in the book, Social Class in the 21st Century, published by Penguin in 2015.

Fiona is also currently a Fellow of the Centre for the Study of Poverty and Inequality, Stanford University, USA. She is an Honorary Professor in the Institute for Social Sciences and the Department of Sociology at the University of Queensland, Australia and continues to work with colleagues there.

She was awarded an OBE for services to social sciences in 2010, elected a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences (FAcSS) in 2011 and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, Manufactures & Commerce (FRSA). Fiona is a companion of the Chartered Management Institute (CMI). She was elected onto the Assembly of the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce in 2015

Dr Claire Stevens has also been made CBE. The consultant in paediatric dentistry at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust and honorary lecturer in dentistry is also president of the British Society of Paediatric Dentistry. She has been recognised for services to children.

Claire graduated from Bristol Dental Hospital in 2000 and then moved to work as a General Professional Trainee in Newcastle Dental Hospital between 2000 – 2002, followed by a year as an associate and as an Honorary Clinical Fellow. She has also completed short placements in Dental Public Health and the Community Dental Services before commencing Specialist Training in 2003. Claire had a brief placement in Adelaide Children’s Hospital as a Senior Registrar before returning to the UK to complete higher level training and an MPhil in dental erosion.

Claire was appointed as a Consultant in June 2009. She developed the Adolescent Intravenous Sedation Service which began in November 2010 and provides care for highly anxious people. Claire was the recipient of a Research for Patient Benefit Grant which supported her team to investigate the patient acceptability of intravenous propofol sedation in adolescent dental care.

Claire is media spokesperson for and President of the British Society of Paediatric Dentistry, an organisation which aims to improve oral health in children and encourages the highest standards of clinical care. Claire Chairs the Greater Manchester Paediatric Dentistry Managed Clinical Network – a group which is working to improve children’s oral health and Paediatric Dental Services across Greater Manchester. She also writes toothfairyblog.org which aims to provide pragmatic, evidence-based information for parents on children’s oral health.

Our alumni honoured

Members of the University’s alumni community have also received honours, including a damehood and a knighthood for two recipients of the University’s Outstanding Alumni Award.

Alison Nimmo (BA Town and Country Planning 1985, BPl 1986), Chief Executive for the Crown Estate, becomes Dame Alison Nimmo DBE CBE for public service and services to the Exchequer. Alison was recognised by the University in 2016 for her achievements, which include leading the regeneration of Manchester city centre after the IRA bomb in 1996. She will step down from her role as CEO for the Crown Estate in December, having been the first woman to hold the post.

Michael Ferguson (BSc Biochemistry 1979), Regius Professor of Life Sciences at the University of Dundee, is knighted for services to science and becomes Sir Mike Ferguson KBE FRS. Michael is a world-renowned expert in his field and has dedicated his career to studying the biochemistry of parasites that cause human tropical diseases, and received the University’s Outstanding Alumni Award in 2018.

Mary Isherwood (MEd Educational Leadership 2007), Headteacher at Camberwell Park School in Manchester, has been awarded an OBE for services to children and young people with special educational needs. Jamila Kossar (BA Religions and Theology 2007), co-founder of Manchester with the Homeless, receives an MBE for services to young people. Jamila is part of the senior leadership team at Manchester Islamic High School for Girls.

]]>headlines,University-news,Alliance-Manchester-Business-School,awards-and-honours,dentistry,health,humanities,Faculty-of-Humanities,sociology,topbannerFri, 28 Dec 2018 23:25:52 +0000https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1369/500_fiona-devine-500x298-740818.jpg?10000Want to stick to your News Year’s exercise regime? This research can helphttps://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/want-to-stick-to-your-news-years-exercise-regime-this-research-can-help/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/want-to-stick-to-your-news-years-exercise-regime-this-research-can-help/Our New Year’s Resolution to visit the gym or do more exercise need not be a stab in the dark with the help of some clever psychology, according to a team of researchers.
]]>Our New Year’s Resolution to visit the gym or do more exercise need not be a stab in the dark with the help of some clever psychology, according to a team of researchers.

The experts from The University of Manchester, Leeds Trinity University and the National University of Ireland Galway researched the most effective techniques for changing adults’ physical activity using a concept known as self-efficacy.

The study of the concept, which refers to the belief in our ability to behave in a way that produces a specific performance and published in Annals of Behavioral Medicine, pooled the results of an analysis of 180 randomised trials.

Though it has long been known that higher levels of self-efficacy is associated with higher levels of physical activity, it is not clear which techniques can best increase self-efficacy in the over-18s as a whole.

The ‘This Girl Can’ Campaign to promote sport among women, say the team, is a prime example of how self-efficacy can be used to encourage participation in sport.

Lead researcher Dr Mei Yee Tang from The University of Manchester said: “One of the biggest influences of our behaviour is our own beliefs. If we believe we are capable of doing something, then we are more likely to devote effort to it and feel we can do it even if it may be a difficult task.”

The team found that the more techniques we use, the more effective they may be at maintaining our self-efficacy – the perception of our abilities and its influence on our behaviour - in the longer-term.

However, the researchers also found that commonly used techniques such as giving people information on the health benefits of physical activity were not effective in increasing self-efficacy.

Dr Tang added: “We were unable to find clear patterns of techniques which should be used together, or which might not work as well together, in increasing self-efficacy.

“Previous similar reviews which have looked at specific adult populations have found self-regulatory techniques such as setting physical activity goals and monitoring physical activity behaviour to be effective at increasing self-efficacy in obese adults and adults without a clinical condition.

“Yet, these techniques were associated with lower self-efficacy in older adults. In older adults, techniques such as setting graded tasks - such as slowly increasing walking distance each time - ,were found to be more effective for this population.

“Therefore, it’s important to stress that there isn’t a single ‘magic bullet’ that can increase self-efficacy for physical activity across all adults.

“On January first we should think about factors such as age and any illness or conditions if we are to support ourselves and our loved ones in achieving their physical activity related-New Year’s resolution.”

“Behavior Change Techniques Associated With Changes in Post intervention and Maintained Changes in Self-Efficacy For Physical Activity: A Systematic Review With Meta-analysis” is published in Annals of Behavioral Medicine.

]]>headlines,health,psychology,researchFri, 21 Dec 2018 14:00:00 +0000https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1369/500_running.jpg?10000Volunteering abroad is good for NHS, finds studyhttps://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/volunteering-abroad-is-good-for-nhs-finds-study/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/volunteering-abroad-is-good-for-nhs-finds-study/Health professionals who volunteer in the developing world are providing substantial benefits to the NHS when they return, according to the Universities of Manchester, Nottingham and Health Education England researchers.
]]>Health professionals who volunteer in the developing world are providing substantial benefits to the NHS when they return, according to the Universities of Manchester, Nottingham and Health Education England researchers.

The team say the increasing numbers of NHS volunteering schemes are equally helpful to the UK and developing world.

The study, was funded by Health Education England and is published in the journal Human Resources for Health.

In a review of 55 academic papers, the team found 28 costs, 133 benefits and 33 features of the experience that led to costs or benefits.

The team also studied the opinions of 45 experts in global health volunteering, health professional education and volunteers, who agreed on 115 benefits.

Study lead author Dr Lucie Byrne-Davis, from The University of Manchester, said: “The relationship between the low and high income countries is more equal than many people realise.

“Yes, voluntary work helps developing countries to engage in global health issues and support their systems of healthcare.

“But we want to get the message out that the activity is equally important to the UK.

“So we think the UK should get behind its NHS staff volunteering in other countries, but that to happen, we need to demonstrate how benefits us in the UK.

Over recent years, volunteering in developing countries has become popular amongst health professionals such as doctors or nurses.

They typically spend one or two weeks in countries in Africa or Asia.

Dr Natasha Tyler from The University of Nottingham, who was on the research team, said: “The benefits we found included learning how to work with limited resources and increasing awareness of cultural differences and similarities.

“Improving the ability to apply clinical skills to a new context was also very important.

“Though costs were much less of a feature, including Lack of recognition from colleagues and management, lack of accreditation and developing some less relevant skills for their NHS work.

“Some staff also need to use up their annual leave to volunteer, and we think this might not be necessarily a good thing.

“But we must stress these costs were not considered to be 'core' by the experts indicating that negative outcomes are not inevitable and can be reduced or removed in the right placement.”

Professor Ged Byrne from Health Education England said: “We have now created a tool which allows health professionals to self-assess many of these benefits.

“It will be used, by Health Education England, to generate the important information, collecting data on what experiences lead to what types of benefit.”

Dr Matthew Jackson, Deputy clinical director of Critical Care at Stockport NHS Trust worked in East Africa during the 2014-5 Ebola outbreak.

In an 8 week deployment, he was part of a research team investigating novel treatments for the disease.

Dr Jackson has worked on an on-going project over a 5 year period in Northern Uganda developing, teaching and handing over a course for managing acutely ill adults.

He also worked with a Swazi university to develop a bachelor programme for nurse anaesthesia, in response to a massive shortfall of anaesthetists in the country.

He said: “As an NHS consultant, my work abroad has been foundational in developing management and project development competencies which I rely on daily in my role as Deputy clinical director of Critical Care and Trust Lead for deteriorating patients.”

Images show Dr Matthew Jackson working and teaching in Uganda and wearing protective gear in Liberia during the Ebola outbreak

]]>headlines,international development,health,medeicine,social responsibilityThu, 20 Dec 2018 15:00:00 +0000https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1369/500_world-137387.jpg?10000Potent synthetic opioid unknowingly used by people who use illicit drugs in England, new study finds https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/potent-synthetic-opioid-unknowingly-used-by-people-who-use-illicit-drugs-in-england-new-study-finds/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/potent-synthetic-opioid-unknowingly-used-by-people-who-use-illicit-drugs-in-england-new-study-finds/A small but significant minority of people who use illicit opioids such as heroin may unknowingly be using a powerful and potentially harmful synthetic opioid that has been linked to a number of deaths.
]]>A small but significant minority of people who use illicit opioids such as heroin may unknowingly be using a powerful and potentially harmful synthetic opioid that has been linked to a number of deaths.

This is according to the results of a pilot study carried out by health and social care charity Change Grow Live and researchers from The University of Manchester, which is published for the first time this month in the Journal of Clinical Toxicology.

The study was launched to improve understanding of the health risks facing people who use illicit opioids and the steps that could be taken to mitigate these. For the research pilot, more than 460 adults receiving treatment from Change Grow Live, one of the UK’s main providers of drug and alcohol treatment, were additionally screened for the presence of fentanyl.

While fentanyl is a very widely used and valued medication, that is legitimately prescribed for people in pain, around the world it is increasingly being sold illicitly.

The results showed a fentanyl-positive rate in adults receiving treatment for opioid use of three per cent. Of those who tested positive for the presence of fentanyl, a majority (80 per cent) was unaware of having purchased or used fentanyl.

The study was conducted at 14 Change Grow Live sites across all nine geographic regions of England. Urine screening was used to detect the presence of fentanyl, while self-report data was collected from individuals to determine whether fentanyl had been knowingly purchased and used.

The new research comes after official figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) released earlier this year showed an increase in deaths caused by fentanyl. The official figures showed that fatalities involving fentanyl increased by 29 per cent from 2016 to 2017, from 58 to 75 deaths.

The research builds on Change Grow Live’s work to understand the growing threat posed by fentanyl. Sparked by the charity’s direct experience of managing and learning from fentanyl-related issues in its cohort of service users in collaboration with Volteface, the independent organisation that covers the policy and politics of drugs, it convened an expert round-table last year to discuss the most effective methods of addressing the lethal threat posed by fentanyl and similar substances. The resulting action plan included recommendations for drug and alcohol treatment providers and those who commission their services based around three key areas: prevention; detection; and control.

Commenting on the research findings, Dr Prun Bijral, Medical Director at Change Grow Live and lead author of the report, said:

“As with any pilot study, the findings need to be kept in perspective and we should be cautious about drawing definitive conclusions. However, in spite of these important caveats, this research was carried out across each of England’s nine regions and we can therefore reasonably say that it does give us an indication of the possible prevalence of fentanyl, where previously there was an absence of data.

“The data suggests that fentanyl is not only present in England, but may be more widespread than originally thought. Although we are not yet seeing a problem on the scale of the USA and Canada, there is no room for complacency.

“We need to build on the work and efforts already underway across the public health landscape, from ensuring that warnings about the prevalence and dangers of fentanyl are adequately communicated and understood, to exploring all options to reduce the risks of drug-related harm including the optimisation of medication-assisted treatment to address problematic opioid use, and distributing naloxone, a drug which can save lives in the event of an overdose situation.”

Professor Tim Millar, Professor of Substance Use and Addictions at the University of Manchester, said:

“Although it is difficult to reach definitive conclusions on the basis of this preliminary pilot study, we think it is important to highlight the possibility that there may be more fentanyl in circulation than many people, us included, had thought. We’re in the process of planning a more comprehensive, larger study that will help to clarify these initial results.”

]]>headlines,research,health,drugs,pharmacyMon, 17 Dec 2018 09:17:00 +0000https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1369/500_injecting-heroin.jpg?10000St Bernard dog was Manchester invention, say historianshttps://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/st-bernard-dog-was-manchester-invention-say-historians/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/st-bernard-dog-was-manchester-invention-say-historians/A new book published by University of Manchester historians shows that the much-loved St Bernard dog we know today was a Victorian invention.
]]>A new book published by University of Manchester historians shows that the much-loved St Bernard dog we know today was a Victorian invention.

According to the team, the St Bernard today bears very little resemblance to the rescue dogs of the Swiss monks who lived on the St Bernard Pass, from which they are said to be descended.

The leading champion of the new St Bernard, defining its physical form after introducing them to Britain was John Cumming Macdona, the colourful vicar of Mossley and then Cheadle, both now in Greater Manchester.

Over half of the St Bernards in the first Kennel Club Studbook were from Macdona's kennel, including the Prince of Wales's 'Hope'.

As a show dog, its physical form was changed and standardised by Victorian breeders leading to inbreeding and health problems.

“The Invention of the Modern Dog” published this week by Johns Hopkins University Press, shows how Victorian dog lovers first raised concerns, challenging the breeders of fancy show dogs in ways that anticipated the concerns of modern animal welfare groups.

Robert Leighton, an authority on dogs, wrote in 1907 how breeding St Bernards as ‘show’ dogs turned them into ‘cripples’ because they were too tall and heavy and called for new conformation standards.

He wrote: “The St. Bernard is a purely manufactured animal, handsome in appearance certainly, but so cumbersome that he is scarcely able to raise a trot, let alone do any tracking in the snow.”

The rescue work of the dogs kept by the monks in the hospice on the St Bernard Pass had come to prominence in the early nineteenth century through stories of the heroism of a dog called Barry.

Then called Alpine Mastiffs, a painting by Edwin Landseer of two dogs ‘reanimating a traveller’ popularised the false idea that the dogs carried a barrel of brandy on their collar.

Barry supposedly saved over forty lives, and his taxidermied body was put on display in Bern, where it can still be seen today. However, Barry, was very different size, coat and colour from that adopted and favoured at British dog shows.

John Cumming Macdona imported dogs that were allegedly descendants of Barry, but his show dogs were large, brown, long-coated dogs.

“The St Bernard is emblematic of how dog breeds were created by Victorians. Macdona assumed that dogs of his favoured form would cope better with snow drifts, be easier to spot and would keep warmer,”. said co-author Professor Michael Worboys. “He then, likely, cross-bred to improve deficient features, and in-bred to preserve desirable ones.”

Co-author Prof Julie-Marie Strange said: “The first Kennel Club Stud Book in 1874 listed 40 breeds. Today there are 210. In some ways the St Bernard is unusual – there is still only one breed. But with others, fanciers have split and multiplied breeds. Take terriers; in 1874 there were 10, now there are 27.”

“Dogs were typical Victorian products. Manufactured, standardised types for different markets. One growing demand was for ladies dogs. These were not always toy breeds, large, elegant dogs like Borzois were also favoured.

“Women’s entry into the world of dog breeding and showing was resisted by self-styled “doggy men”, which led to the formation of the Ladies Kennel Association – a separate sphere with a different culture.”

And co-author Dr Neil Pemberton said: “Before the Victorians, there were no dog standardised breeds as such. Rather there were broad types of dog defined by what they did, not how they looked.

“And there was necessary variety within types. Hunting dogs were bred to suit different local environments, and people wanted pets that were unique individuals not clones.

]]>headlines,research,history,animals,healthThu, 06 Dec 2018 09:00:00 +0000https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1369/500_pre1923barry-963005.jpg?10000Twice bereaved relative appeals to public for early detection ideas to save lives from cancerhttps://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/twice-bereaved-relative-appeals-to-public-for-early-detection-ideas-to-save-lives-from-cancer/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/twice-bereaved-relative-appeals-to-public-for-early-detection-ideas-to-save-lives-from-cancer/Greater Manchester resident, Gen Buckley, who lost her father and brother early to bowel cancer, is urging the public to support new health research by sharing their ideas about saving lives from cancer.
]]>Greater Manchester resident, Gen Buckley, who lost her father and brother early to bowel cancer, is urging the public to support new health research by sharing their ideas about saving lives from cancer.

Every two minutes someone in the UK is diagnosed with cancer. There are more than 360,000 new cancer cases and around 164,000 cancer deaths in the UK every year. The 'two-week wait' (urgent referral to see a specialist for suspected cancer) is the most common route to diagnosing cancer. Screening is the route with the highest proportion of cases diagnosed at an early stage, but is only effective for a few cancer types.

The Detecting Cancer Early Research Priorities Survey asks cancer patients, their carers and the public to suggest new areas that scientists can research to detect cancer early. The earlier cancer is detected the more likely it is that treatment will be effective.

“People, with a personal experience of cancer, are likely to have suggestions about how we can focus differently on cancer early detection” said Dr Ellena Badrick, Cancer Data Scientist at the Manchester BRC and The University of Manchester.

“We want their ideas in order to prioritise a top 10 list of unanswered research questions. These questions will inform future studies and, ultimately, effect healthcare advice and practice - hopefully saving more lives.”

Participants, who must be 18+, can contribute any relevant ideas, but areas for consideration - such as diagnosis, education, individual empowerment, missed opportunities while being treated for other conditions, new tests or screening - are mentioned as prompts in the survey. Thoughts on all cancer types can be included in the poll, which will be open for three months.

The survey is being managed as a Priority Setting Partnership (PSP), by the Cancer Prevention and Early Detection Team at the Manchester BRC, in partnership with the James Lind Alliance (JLA). The questionnaire is integral to the PSP which is taking a systematic approach to deriving the set of unanswered research questions. The James Lind Alliance, a non-profit making organisation, supports joint working between patients, carers and healthcare professionals to improve health research.

Ex-nurse, 50 year old Gen Buckley cared for her father, Mike and brother Phil Hynes, while they were treated for bowel cancer. Telecommunications engineer Phil, who lived in Watford, died aged 46 in March this year, within nine months of diagnosis, leaving a wife and two young children. Mike, a former business studies lecturer at Manchester Metropolitan University, lived with cancer for five years, before dying, aged 63, in 2000. Both had cancer diagnosed at a late stage.

Gen, who used to work at The Royal Oldham Hospital and is a steering group member of the Detecting Cancer Early PSP, said “Supporting two close relatives through cancer diagnosis and treatment gave me a completely different perspective to my nursing role. Alternative viewpoints are valuable springboards for future research.

“Patients, carers and the public, who may have had a test for cancer themselves, will have different ideas as to how early detection can be approached. Don’t underestimate any observations and suggestions even seemingly small things can make a huge difference. Ten minutes spent filling in the survey could lead to more effective ways of finding the disease earlier. This could benefit participants themselves, their family and friends.”

After the survey closes (28 February 2019) all suggestions will be reviewed, using predefined JLA methodology, and the top 10 list of unanswered research questions agreed at a workshop involving all parties: patients, carers, healthcare professionals and public. The workshop will take place in summer 2019.

]]>headlines,research,health,cancer,medicineWed, 05 Dec 2018 11:19:00 +0000https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1369/500_genbuckleywithfathermikeampbrotherphilhynes.xmasmid1990sjpeg-837658.jpg?10000Researchers uncover camouflage strategy of multi-resistant bacteriahttps://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/researchers-uncover-camouflage-strategy-of-multi-resistant-bacteria/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/researchers-uncover-camouflage-strategy-of-multi-resistant-bacteria/An international team of researchers including scientists from The University of Tübingen, the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF) and The University of Manchester have achieved a breakthrough in the decoding of multi-resistant pathogens. The team led by Professor Andreas Peschel and Professor Thilo Stehle was able to decode the structure and function of a previously unknown protein used by dreaded pathogens such as Staphylococcus aureus like a magic cloak to protect themselves against the human immune system. The study was published in Nature
]]>An international team of researchers including scineitsts from The University of Tübingen, the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF) and The University of Manchester have achieved a breakthrough in the decoding of multi-resistant pathogens. The team led by Professor Andreas Peschel and Professor Thilo Stehle was able to decode the structure and function of a previously unknown protein used by dreaded pathogens such as Staphylococcus aureus like a magic cloak to protect themselves against the human immune system. The study was published in Nature

Dr Guoqing Xia and his PhD student Mr Wanchat Sirisarn, from the Division of infection, immunity and respiratory medicine, contributed to this study. Infections caused by bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus cause many deaths worldwide. Staphylococcus aureus strains resistant to the antibiotic methicillin (MRSA for short) are particularly feared in hospitals. According to a study published at the beginning of November, there were around 670,000 diseases caused by multi-resistant pathogens in the EU alone in 2015 and 33,000 patients died.

Normally, our immune system copes well with pathogens such as bacteria or viruses. However, sometimes the defensive strategies of the human body fail, especially in immunocompromised patients. Most antibiotics are meanwhile ineffective against resistant pathogens. Effective replacement antibiotics and a protective vaccine against MRSA are not yet in sight. A precise understanding of the defence mechanisms could therefore lead to new therapies against the bacteria.

Researchers at the University of Tübingen have now described how MRSA bacteria become invisible to the immune system. They were able to show that many of the particularly frequent MRSA bacteria have acquired a previously unknown protein that prevents the pathogens from being detected by antibodies. The Tübingen scientists gave the protein the name TarP (short for teichoic acid ribitol P).

"TarP alters the pattern of carbohydrate molecules on the pathogen surface in a so far unknown way," explained Professor Andreas Peschel from the Interfaculty Institute of Microbiology and Infection Medicine at the University of Tübingen. "As a result, the immune system is unable to produce antibodies against the most important MRSA antigen, teichoic acid," said Peschel. “The immune system is ‘blinded’ and loses its most important weapon against the pathogen.”

Reprogrammed by phages

The researchers from Tübingen assume that the bacterial camouflage is the result of an exchange between the pathogens and their natural enemies, known as bacteriophages. Phages are a class of viruses that attack bacteria, use them as host cells and feed on them. In this case, phages seem to have reprogrammed their host using the TarP protein and thus altered the surface of the bacterium.

The first authors of the study, David Gerlach and Yinglan Guo, succeeded in clarifying the mechanism and structure of TarP. "We now have a detailed understanding of how the protein functions as an enzyme on the molecular level," said Gerlach. The structure-function analysis of TarP forms an excellent basis for the development of new drugs that block TarP allowing the immune system to detect the pathogens. An interdisciplinary approach, involving scientists from Denmark, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, the Netherlands and South Korea, was particularly important for the success of this work.

"The discovery of TarP came as a complete surprise to us. It explains very well why the immune system often has no chance against MRSA," said Professor Thilo Stehle from the Interfaculty Institute of Biochemistry. "The results will help us to develop better therapies and vaccines against the pathogens." Peschel referred to the recently approved Tübingen Cluster of Excellence "Controlling Microbes to Fight Infections" and the close cooperation with the German Center for Infection Research: "These outstanding networks will help us to further advance the research of MRSA and TarP."

]]>headlines,research,health,medicine,biology,microbiologyTue, 04 Dec 2018 13:44:35 +0000https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1369/500_staphylococcus-aureus-visa-2-685367.jpg?10000New research identifies two genes linked to serious congenital heart conditionhttps://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/new-research--identifies-two-genes-linked-to-serious-congenital-heart-condition/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/new-research--identifies-two-genes-linked-to-serious-congenital-heart-condition/Scientists at The University of Manchester have this week published research, funded by the British Heart Foundation (BHF) which shows, for the first time, possible genetic causes of a serious congenital heart condition, Tetralogy of Fallot (ToF).
]]>Scientists at the University of Manchester have this week published research, funded by the British Heart Foundation (BHF) which shows, for the first time, possible genetic causes of a serious congenital heart condition, Tetralogy of Fallot (ToF).

People born with ToF have four specific structural abnormalities in the heart, which mean they often have to undergo open heart surgery early in life. Many patients will have several surgeries and procedures throughout their lifetime. ToF is a very complex congenital heart condition, and in the majority of cases the cause is unknown.

Although most children who have had Tetralogy of Fallot corrected will go onto lead normal lives, there can be complications later in life including the need for further operations, and the development of heart rhythm disorders.

In this study, led by BHF Professor Bernard Keavney, the team used a technique called “whole exome sequencing” to look at specific regions of the DNA of ToF patients. The BHF also funded young investigator Dr Donna Page, who was first author on the paper.

The DNA of 829 ToF patients was analysed, making this the largest genetic study of patients with this condition ever conducted. To collect these volunteer families, the researchers worked with 7 UK children’s heart centres, and colleagues in Belgium and Australia.

The research identified two genes called NOTCH1 and FLT4, which were associated with rare and damaging DNA changes in ToF patients. Using experiments on cells grown in the laboratory, the team showed that some of the changes identified caused abnormal function of the genes involved. The study showed that the DNA changes in these two genes are present in around 7% of ToF patients, making them the two most important genes that contribute to the condition.

Further research is now required to discover additional genes. It is hoped this may lead to the DNA testing of grown-up patients with ToF who are considering having a family, to give them better information on the how likely it is that they will have a child with this condition. It would also shed some light on why they themselves developed the condition whilst in the womb.

Eight year old Callum Peace, from Liverpool, was born with a range of conditions, including ToF. His mum Jo said:

“When I was pregnant, I knew nothing of Callum’s conditions. The doctors had told me that he was going to be small – he was only 4lbs 11oz when he was born – but other than that I was expecting a healthy baby that I would be able to take home to the cot I had ready waiting for him.

“When Callum was born he was unable to breathe for himself. He required immediate resuscitation and was intubated and put on a ventilator. He was then transferred to the Intensive Care Unit at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool. He was extremely unwell, having turned blue due to a lack of oxygen in his blood, and at this point he was given just a 20% chance of survival.

“It was a real ordeal, and not something I would wish on any parent. We know that Callum will need more surgery on his heart in the years to come so, to me, every day is precious. Any research that can give parents like me some understanding of why their child has this condition is a step in the right direction.”

Andrew Stuart, a journalist from Manchester who was born with Tetralogy of Fallot says:

“At 11 months old I had open heart surgery, a ‘full correction’ of ToF. I was then monitored every two years, with them checking my pulmonary artery and pulmonary valve in particular.

“In 2012, they noticed some leaking in my pulmonary valve, although at that stage it was not severe enough to operate. Then, in 2016, I experienced more symptoms such as palpitations and breathlessness. When they did a scan this time, they could see that the leaking had become much worse and they would need to replace the valve. It was a worrying time as I had no real idea of what open heart surgery would entail and what it would be like afterwards.

“I had the surgery in May this year, and I have felt a lot better since. I am back in work and everything seems to be going OK. The recovery from open heart surgery is a long process and takes months. It's quite an upheaval in your life. I have an MRI scan booked in a couple of months so I will know more then.

“I am 30 now, and I’ve not got children, but I know that if I do have them in the future I would like to know whether there is a higher chance of them having this condition.

“It’s great to know the BHF and the University of Manchester are researching into congenital heart conditions like ToF. The condition means lifelong check-ups and treatment, medication and procedures, and will mean more in the future as I have a tissue donor valve which will need replacing. It has had a big impact because every step along the way is yet another thing, and never the endpoint of treatment.

“I don’t know what caused me to be born with this condition, but I would be very interested to find out!”

Professor Bernard Keavney, BHF Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine at the Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences, University of Manchester, commented:

“Tetralogy of Fallot is a serious congenital heart condition and one that, without surgery, would result in patients dying in virtually all cases. We have always suspected that genes played a part in causing the condition, and with this funding from the BHF we have been able to identify, for the first time, the two genes that have the biggest part to play.

“We hope that this knowledge will help us to support patients to understand more about their genes and how the condition can be passed on through families.”

]]>headlines,Research,Cardiology,Medicine,HealthThu, 29 Nov 2018 17:02:26 +0000https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1369/500_heart0-167811.jpg?10000New study sheds light on Stephen Fry’s portrayal of manic depression https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/new-study-sheds-light-on-stephen-frys-portrayal-of-manic-depression/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/new-study-sheds-light-on-stephen-frys-portrayal-of-manic-depression/Despite the suffering caused by bipolar disorder – also known as manic depression, a significant minority of patients actually want to keep it because of the creative highs it gives them, according to new research from University of Manchester psychologists.
]]>Despite the suffering caused by bipolar disorder – also known as manic depression, a significant minority of patients actually want to keep it because of the creative highs it gives them, according to new research from University of Manchester psychologists.

In the online survey of 103 people, 26 of them would want to keep their Bipolar Disorder - in which they experience deep depression but at other times euphoria.

]]>headlines,health,medical,psychology,students,researchThu, 29 Nov 2018 15:19:00 +0000https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1369/500_stephen-fry-june-2016-318641.jpg?10000IVF linked to lower birth weight and child growth https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/ivf-linked-to-lower-birth-weight-and-child-growth/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/ivf-linked-to-lower-birth-weight-and-child-growth/A study has linked babies conceived through a type of IVF to lower birth weight followed by increased growth after birth.
]]>A study has linked babies conceived through a type of IVF to lower birth weight followed by increased growth after birth.

The University of Manchester led study of 5,200 IVF children found that singleton babies conceived from fresh embryo transfers - used in two thirds of all IVF - are associated with lower birth weights, head circumference and length, but then grow more quickly, catching up to naturally conceived children by school age.

The team are also monitoring birth weight in IVF babies over a 25-year period, and initial results show that weight seems to be increasing. It may be that recent improvements in IVF technology are responsible, though it’s too early to know for sure, say the team.

Babies conceived from frozen embryo transfers – used in about one third of IVF- have greater weight, head circumference and length at birth and show similar growth to naturally conceived children.

“Though the effects are small, they do justify considering using the safest form of IVF treatment where possible, and continuing to monitor the long-term health of these children,” said reproductive biologist Professor Daniel Brison who led the study.

“Overall IVF babies are just as likely to be born healthy as any other, and the lifestyle choices they make in later life will far outweigh any small effect of low birthweight and altered growth,” explained Professor Brison.

Using Scottish data, it is the first large-scale study of early growth in IVF children from birth to school age anywhere in the world, and only the second study of health in UK IVF children using the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority register of IVF treatments.

The European Union funded study, which involved researchers from the Universities of Manchester and Southampton, is published today in BMC Medicine.

Among the headline findings are:

The birthweight of babies born from fresh embryo transfer cycles is on average 93·7g less than naturally conceived babies.

Babies born from frozen embryo transfers are on average 57·5g heavier.

Fresh embryo babies grew faster from birth by on average 7·2g/week but remained lighter by 171g, at 6-8 weeks, than normally conceived babies and 133g smaller than frozen embryo transfer babies; who were similar to normally conceived babies.

By school entry (4-7 years), weight, length and BMI in boys and girls conceived by fresh and frozen embryo transfer were similar to those in naturally conceived children.

Professor Brison said: “We don’t yet know why fetal and child growth for children conceived through this form of fertility treatment is affected.

“Babies born from IVF appear largely healthy, though the oldest of them, Louise Brown, is still only 40 so we feel there is a duty to monitor this cohort of children for diseases which show up only in later life.

“The impact of fresh embryos transfer on birth weight is after all nearly as great as that of maternal smoking in pregnancy. One possible explanation, say the team, is that fetal growth is restricted with fresh embryo transfer because of impaired placental function associated with dysregulated maternal hormones. Freezing embryos, they argue, may also help to preserve them to establish pregnancy later on when the mother’s body has recovered from IVF.

“But IVF children need not be alarmed: the greatest risk from IVF is multiple pregnancy, and the IVF field and government regulator (HFEA) have worked together to improve this greatly over the last 5-10 years.”

]]>headlines,IVF,Health,Medicine,research,pregnancyWed, 28 Nov 2018 12:25:33 +0000https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1369/500_newbornbaby.jpg?10000New nano tool could pave way for better cancer testinghttps://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/new-nano-tool-could-pave-way-for-better-cancer-testing/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/new-nano-tool-could-pave-way-for-better-cancer-testing/A new tool designed by scientists at The University of Manchester has laid the foundations for in depth analysis of blood that allows the identification of previously unknown molecules in blood.

]]>A new tool designed by scientists at The University of Manchester has laid the foundations for in depth analysis of blood that allows the identification of previously unknown molecules in blood.

Led by Dr Marilena Hadjidemetriou and Prof Kostas Kostarelos who are based at the University’s Nanomedicine Lab and in collaboration with the Manchester Cancer Research Centre, the research is published in the journal of Advanced Materials.

The technology – which uses tiny nanoparticles – is a new way of mining blood samples for information about cancer.

Minimally invasive blood tests have the potential to detect and monitor life-threatening diseases such as cancer.

But our blood contains so much information it can be hard to uncover disease-specific signatures.

Markers released into the bloodstream as a response to a disease are often difficult to detect because they are too small and too few in number.

The study -funded by and Cancer Research UK and Marie Curie Initial Training Network PathChooser- demonstrated that small molecules - specifically proteins - stick to the nanoparticles while in the blood circulation of cancer patients.

“Fishing out” the nanoparticles from the blood can then allow the analysis of the sticky molecules, called a ‘corona’, some of which are released from the growing cancer.

“We want to amplify cancer signals in the blood that would otherwise be buried among all this other ‘molecular noise’. Our team hopes to discover panels of biomolecules that can point to early warning signs of cancer which will provide the basis for the development of new diagnostic tests’’, said Prof Kostarelos.

The Advanced Materials paper illustrated for the first time the value and potential of nanoparticle-forming protein coronas in the blood of six patients suffering with advanced stage ovarian carcinoma

The patients were being treated with nanoparticles (liposomes) that are clinically used to deliver chemotherapeutic drugs.

In another recently published study, the Nanomedicine Lab team demonstrated that this tool is very powerful for the discovery of tumor-specific blood biomarkers in tumor-bearing mice

More studies in patients with early-stage disease are needed to prove the potential of this technology for tracking tumours overtime.

In the future, the scientists think this technology which sits at the intersection of the fields of nanotechnology, proteomics and cancer biology could improve the prospects for accurate early diagnosis in a range of diseases.

Dr Hadjidemetriou, Cancer Research UK-funded and first author of the study said: “Inaccuracy is a problem in many blood tests which either fail to pick up disease biomarkers or give false positives or false negatives. We believe this nano-scavenger technology could be a game-changer.”

“This technology might not only improve the prospects for early diagnosis. It also has exciting possibilities in terms of patient stratification, disease progression and monitoring response to treatment.’’

]]>headlines,research,cancer,medicine,health,biologyWed, 28 Nov 2018 12:16:58 +0000https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1369/500_rt-e3q9107.jpg?10000University cancer research facility renamed Oglesby Cancer Research Building to honour enormous contribution of Michael Oglesbyhttps://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/university-cancer-research-facility-renamed--oglesby-cancer-research-building-to-honour-enormous-contribution-of-michael-oglesby/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/university-cancer-research-facility-renamed--oglesby-cancer-research-building-to-honour-enormous-contribution-of-michael-oglesby/The University of Manchester building for Manchester Cancer Research Centre (MCRC) researchers has been renamed in a ceremony to honour the contribution of Michael Oglesby, his family, and the Oglesby Charitable Trust to cancer research in Manchester.
]]>The University of Manchester building for Manchester Cancer Research Centre (MCRC) researchers has been renamed in a ceremony to honour the contribution of Michael Oglesby, his family, and the Oglesby Charitable Trust to cancer research in Manchester.

Michael has been the chair of the MCRC steering board for 12 years and has played a major role in the growth of cancer research in Manchester during that time. It is in recognition of this role that the building will now be known as the Oglesby Cancer Research Building.

The building for MCRC researchers opposite the Christie, opened in 2015 and houses 150 scientists and 100 academic and support staff. The MCRC is an internationally renowned and hugely successful partnership between The Christie, The University of Manchester and Cancer Research UK. The naming ceremony took place on 20 November.

Professor Nic Jones, inaugural Director of the MCRC, said: “This building means an awful lot to me and I am so thrilled that from now on it will be named in Michael’s honour. He was instrumental in getting the project off the ground and in guiding its development through the inevitable ups and downs.

“His tireless support for the Centre and its ambitions has been there right from the start. We started on that journey together not really knowing how far it would take us and sharing that journey has been so inspiring.”

Professor Rob Bristow, MCRC Director, said: “I came to Manchester last year because I saw a unique opportunity. Much of that was down the ethos of collaboration that this building represents, and the ambition shown by Michael and the rest of the MCRC leadership. It is fantastic that we can honour him in this way.”

Michael holds an honorary doctorate from the University, is one of its most generous donors and has made huge contributions in money, time and influence to the University and beyond.

Michael, who was joined by his family said: “We are very proud to have the Oglesby name associated with this building, which is a landmark building in the city. It makes a statement to the rest of the world about Manchester’s success and ambition in cancer research. But most importantly it tells patients that their first class treatment has cutting edge science behind it, which in turn gives them hope, and that is priceless.”

The Oglesby Charitable Trust has supported many initiatives and projects across the University, but with a considerable focus on cancer. The Trust made a lead gift to the MCRC building and a further gift to the Centre for Cancer Biomarkers. Michael’s visionary philanthropy has also led to establishing a translational patient-centred research group to investigate an unusual type of chronic leukaemia (CMML).

Michael is also playing a leading role in the development of plans for a new world-class cancer research facility which is to be built at The Christie on the site of the Paterson building which suffered devastating fire damage in April 2017 displacing over 300 scientists and support staff.

Located across the road from the Oglesby Cancer Research Building, it will be a major step forward in realising the MCRC’s ambition of becoming one of the world’s top five centres for basic, translational and clinical cancer research.

Professor Dame Nancy Rothwell, President and Vice-Chancellor of The University of Manchester, said: “Virtually wherever you walk across our campus, if you look closely enough, you’ll find evidence of quite what an impact the Oglesby family has had on the University across a wide range of fields of endeavour. However, the area that Michael’s enthusiasm, commitment and insight has had the greatest impact is cancer research, which makes this naming so appropriate.”

About Michael Oglesby

Michael Oglesby CBE DL LLD DSC founded the Bruntwood Group of companies in 1978 which is now one of the leading commercial property owners and developers in the English regions, owning in excess of 120 buildings in central and south Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds and Birmingham, with a value in excess of £1,000 million.

At the end 2013 Michael relinquished executive responsibility in the company and is now devoting his time to a broad portfolio of principally philanthropic activities covering the arts, civic roles, philanthropy, health and education

He is Chairman of the Oglesby Charitable Trust which has given in excess of £16 million to over 300 charities during the last 20 years. The Trust has a broad portfolio of giving which for many years has included support for both the Christie and The University of Manchester encompassing medical research, contributing to a number of major building projects and arts installations.

Michael is a former High Sheriff and Vice Lord Lieutenant of Greater Manchester and, in the 2011 January Honours List, was awarded the CBE for his services to Industry and Charity.

Cancer

Cancer is one of The University of Manchester’s research beacons - examples of pioneering discoveries, interdisciplinary collaboration and cross-sector partnerships that are tackling some of the biggest questions facing the planet. #ResearchBeacons

]]>headlines,health,Campus-Masterplan,cancer,Research-BeaconsTue, 27 Nov 2018 16:29:12 +0000https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1369/500_img-20150615-151815-409855.jpg?10000LGB students at higher risk of self-harmhttps://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/lgb-students-at-higher-risk-of-self-harm/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/lgb-students-at-higher-risk-of-self-harm/University students who are Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual (LGB) are at higher risk of self-harm and attempting suicide than their heterosexual counterparts, finds new research.
]]>University students who are Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual (LGB) are at higher risk of self-harm and attempting suicide than their heterosexual counterparts, finds new research.

The study also shows that low self-esteem may explain the increased risk of self-harm in LGB students. Low self-esteem may result in LGB students who have faced discrimination or have struggled to accept or share their sexuality with others.

The study was carried out by a team at The University of Manchester, Leeds Beckett University, Lancaster University and Edith Cowan University in Australia, and is published in Archives of Suicide Research today.

Of the LGB students who completed an online questionnaire, 65% had carried out non suicidal self-harm over their lifetime compared to 41% of heterosexual students.

And 35% of LGB students had attempted suicide in their lifetime compared to 14% of non-LGB students.

The study was completed by of 707 students with an average age of 23 from two English Universities of which 119 self-identified as LGB.

The study does not tell us, however, whether being at University increased the risk of self-harm in LGB people.

And it is not possible to compare the student sample with prevalence rates for non-suicidal self-injury and suicide attempts across the population as a whole.

Dr Taylor said: “Surprisingly, there is little data on the psychological mechanisms that might explain the association between being lesbian, gay or bisexual, and self-harm in UK students. This data highlights how low self-esteem may leave some LGB students more at risk.

“Interestingly, anxiety and depressive symptoms did not appear to be important once self-esteem was taken into account.

He added: “So prevention and intervention efforts directed at these psychological mediators by Universities may help to reduce risks in this population.

“Universities are already doing a lot of good things in this area such as counselling and psychological support which is targeted at LGB people.

“And tackling discrimination and improving acceptance of LGB people through public policy and media campaigns may be helpful in reducing any impact on self-esteem.”

Dr Elizabeth McDermott of Lancaster University said: “Young people’s mental health is a national concern and this study confirms that lesbian, gay or bisexual young people have elevated rates of suicidality and self-harm compared with heterosexual youth. We know much less about how LGB young people seek help for their mental health problems, or what type of support would be effective.”

The paper Psychological correlates of self-harm within gay, lesbian and bisexual UK University students, is published in Archives of Suicide Research.

]]>headlines,Research,health,medical,psychology,self-harmFri, 23 Nov 2018 09:36:00 +0000https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1369/500_selfharmmentalhealth.jpg?10000Revealed: 35 kidney genes linked to chronic kidney disease riskhttps://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/revealed-35-kidney-genes-linked-to-chronic-kidney-disease-risk/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/revealed-35-kidney-genes-linked-to-chronic-kidney-disease-risk/An international study lead by University of Manchester scientists has discovered the identity of genes that predispose people to chronic kidney disease.
]]>An international study lead by University of Manchester scientists has discovered the identity of genes that predispose people to chronic kidney disease.

The discovery is a major advance in understanding of the significantly under-diagnosed disorder which, if left undetected, can lead to failing kidneys that need dialysis or kidney transplantation.

The discovery of 35 kidney genes is an important step forward to the future development of new diagnostic tests and treatments for the disease that affects around one in ten adults.

The team, based in Poland, Australia and the UK publish the Kidney Research UK funded study in Nature Communications today.

Lead researcher Professor Maciej Tomaszewski from The University of Manchester said: “Chronic kidney disease is known for its strong genetic component.

“Our limited knowledge of its exact genetic mechanisms partly explains why progress in the development of new diagnostic tests and treatments of chronic kidney disease has been so slow.

“The findings were made possible by using a state-of-the art technology known as “next-generation RNA sequencing” applied to one of the largest ever collections of human kidneys.

“We hope that some of the kidney genes we discovered may become attractive targets for the development of future diagnostics and treatment for patients with chronic kidney disease.”

Co-author Professor Adrian Woolf from Manchester Children's Hospital and The University of Manchester said: "One of the genes - mucin-1- is especially interesting.

“It makes a sticky protein called mucin that coats urinary tubes inside the kidney. Mutations of this gene have already been found in rare families with inherited kidney failure"

Professor Fadi Charchar from Federation University Australia said: “We hope that early prediction by genetic testing even before the development of symptoms will in the future be the first line of defence against one of the world's top killers.”

“Early detection followed by treatment using kidney-protective medication or avoidance of drugs which can damage the kidneys is the key to healthier kidneys later in life.”

Director of research operations at Kidney Research UK, Elaine Davies said: “Nearly 2 million people in the UK have been diagnosed with moderate-severe CKD by their GP but it is estimated that a further one million people remain undiagnosed. We refer to CKD as a silent killer because it is common for it to have little or no symptoms until the consequences of the disease have taken hold.

“The findings of this research are hugely important as they bring us a step closer to being able to understand, diagnose earlier and prevent kidney disease.”

]]>headlines,health,kidneys,research,medicine,biologyThu, 22 Nov 2018 16:51:00 +0000https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1369/500_kidneys.jpg?10000Research leads to new way of caring for pre-cancerous conditionhttps://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/research-leads-to-new-way-of-caring-for-pre-cancerous-condition/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/research-leads-to-new-way-of-caring-for-pre-cancerous-condition/A University of Manchester study of care provisions for patients diagnosed with Barrett’s Esophagus, a pre-cancerous condition, has resulted in improvements in local NHS care, which may form a blueprint for other hospitals.
]]>A University of Manchester study of care provisions for patients diagnosed with Barrett’s Esophagus, a pre-cancerous condition, has resulted in improvements in local NHS care, which may form a blueprint for other hospitals.

The condition where cells lining the food pipe grow abnormally, is often linked with acid reflux and, in a small number of patients, can progress to cancer.

Barrett’s is the only known precursor to a type of cancer called oesophageal adenocarcinoma which, unlike most other cancers, is currently increasing in the number of people affected every year.

Patients diagnosed with Barrett’s have been identified as a key at-risk group for monitoring to improve early diagnosis rates for oesophageal cancer.

The study, led by Dr James Britton, found that provisions and support for patients diagnosed with this condition were inadequate.

Due to insufficient and inconsistent care, many patients felt poorly informed with some lacking confidence in their ability to self-manage their condition.

The study was supported by Covidien and led by researchers based at Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust and The University of Manchester.

Patients spoke to researchers about their condition and treatment experiences in semi-structured and in-depth one-to-one interviews.

Dr Britton said: “Listening to patients’ experiences and concerns has contributed towards significant changes in care provisions for Barrett’s patients at this NHS trust, with a dedicated service now in place.”

If caught early, oesophageal adenocarcinomas are treatable using minimally invasive endoscopic techniques. This treatment is very effective and durable with only 1-2% of patients subsequently developing invasive cancer.

However, prognosis is very poor if the condition is not caught early.

Long-term monitoring means that these patients need to undergo regular invasive endoscopic procedures, which can have a significant impact on their quality of life.

“Despite this burden, they remain a forgotten patient group. Many don’t receive adequate information about their condition and their care is often inconsistent with no central lynchpin.

“This current standard of practice for Barrett’s patients is likely to be endemic across NHS hospitals”

The minority of patients in this study who self-reported as having adequate knowledge of their condition and its implications, showed a lower tendency towards cancer-related worries.

This suggests that well informed patients are less likely to experience reduced quality of life due to chronic and unnecessary cancer related worry.

“This should be the norm,” said Dr Britton

Patient-centred care and tailoring services around patient’s needs has already led to improved care for patients living with other chronic conditions, for example Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

These improvements have been shown to enhance patient self-management of disease flares, reduce hospital admissions, GP appointments and hospital appointments leading to large cost savings.

Dr Britton added: “We found a clear appetite for a Barrett’s focused services which could bridge the gap between GP and hospital care; providing information and dedicated patient support between surveillance tests”

“We now want to take our findings to other hospitals. We hope that a large multi-centre study will enable us to influence clinical guidelines and provisions for Barrett’s care across the UK, and improve more patients’ experiences with this condition. ”

]]>headlines,cancer,health,medicine,NHSMon, 19 Nov 2018 16:00:00 +0000https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1369/500_esophegus-377885.jpg?10000Study advocates psychological screening for the carers of child burn victimshttps://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/study-advocates-psychological-screening-for-the-carers-of-child-burn-victims/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/study-advocates-psychological-screening-for-the-carers-of-child-burn-victims/A new study published in the Journal of Pediatric Psychology highlights the need for psychological screening for families/primary caregivers after a child sustains a burn injury.
]]>A new study published in the Journal of Pediatric Psychology highlights the need for psychological screening for families/primary caregivers after a child sustains a burn injury.

Paediatric burn injuries are amongst the most traumatic injuries for both children and their parents. Parents are often more emotionally affected by the event than the children themselves and are at risk of developing psychological difficulties.

In the immediate aftermath of a burn event, between 24% and 50% of parents meet clinical criteria for post-traumatic stress syndrome (PTSS) while some parents show symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) many years after the injury. Symptoms of depression and anxiety are also common both directly after and in the months following a burn event.

Some parents often develop feelings of guilt and shame. Guilt is often defined as a negative evaluation of one’s actions. By contrast, shame is a feeling of being inferior or deficient to other people. In the burns literature, no research to date has examined parents’ experience of shame.

Researchers from the University of Liverpool, University of Manchester and Alder Hey Children's NHS Foundation Trust, led by Dr Laura Hawkins and Dr Luna Centifanti, aimed to examine the association of guilt and shame on parents’ psychological adjustment to their child’s burn injury.

The researchers identified 71 children who had been admitted to the regional children’s burns unit, located at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, for treatment. These included treatment for burns caused by scalding, contact, flame, friction, chemical and frost. Some children were treated as outpatients while others required hospital admission and skin grafts.

A total of 91 parents/primary caregivers were recruited during the first six weeks following their child’s burn injury and completed questionnaires measuring traumatic stress, depression and anxiety, guilt, shame and self-compassion.

The analysis found high levels of psychological distress and feelings of guilt in parents whose child had sustained a burn injury. Parents or caregivers who experienced feelings of guilt and shame showed more symptoms of psychological distress, while parents who adopted a compassionate self-attitude (known as “self-compassion”) appeared to cope better following the injury.

Finally, the study found that the way a parent thinks or feels about the injury was a better indicator of how well they cope following the burn than the size or severity of the burn itself.

Dr Hawkins, said: “Our study suggests that health care professionals should pay closer attention to families’ subjective injury experiences. Screening for psychological distress should be offered to all families regardless of the size and severity of the burn injury.”

]]>headlines,research,health,psychology,burns,trauma,medicineTue, 06 Nov 2018 09:19:00 +0000https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1369/500_burn-905326.jpg?10000Drug combo doesn't benefit depression but leaves room for doubthttps://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/drug-combo-doesnt-benefit-depression-but-leaves-room-for-doubt/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/drug-combo-doesnt-benefit-depression-but-leaves-room-for-doubt/A large clinical trial led by researchers at the Universities of Bristol, Exeter, Keele, Manchester and Hull York Medical School, and published in the British Medical Journal has found that a popular combination of antidepression drugs was no more effective in improving depression than a placebo. The studies' author's call on doctors to rethink their use.
]]>A large clinical trial led by researchers at the Universities of Bristol, Exeter, Keele, Manchester and Hull York Medical School, and published in the British Medical Journal has found that a popular combination of antidepression drugs was no more effective in improving depression than a placebo. The studies' author's call on doctors to rethink their use.

Psychiatrists and GPs increasingly combine mirtazapine with an SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor) or SNRI (serotonin-noradenaline reuptake inhibitor) antidepressant for patients whose depression does not respond to a single antidepressant.

The trial led looked at the effectiveness of adding mirtazapine to an SSRI or SNRI in patients who remain depressed after at least six weeks of conventional (SSRI or SNRI) antidepressant treatment.

Psychiatrists and GPs increasingly combine mirtazapine with an SSRI or SNRI antidepressant for patients whose depression does not respond to a single antidepressant.

The study, funded by the National Institute for Health Research, also found that patients taking mirtazapine in combination with another antidepressant had more adverse effects and were more likely to stop treatment than those who took an antidepressant and placebo.

Depression is one of the top five contributors to the global burden of disease and by 2030 is predicted to be the leading cause of disability in high income countries. People with depression are usually managed in primary care in the UK and antidepressants are often the first line of treatment. However, many patients do not respond to antidepressants.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) advises GPs to reconsider treatment if there has been no response after 4-6 weeks of treatment. The practice of adding mirtazapine has grown as psychiatrists and GPs search for effective ways of treating those who don’t respond to a single antidepressant. Previous small-scale studies had shown that this combination might be effective.

Dr David Kessler from the Centres for Academic Mental Health and Academic Primary Care at the University of Bristol, and lead author of the study, said:

“Half of patients in primary care who take antidepressants remain depressed despite sticking to their treatment, yet there is little evidence about how to treat those for whom the drugs don’t work.

“Our study has found that there is unlikely to be a clinically important benefit for mirtazapine over placebo in addition to an SSRI or SNRI antidepressant in primary care patients with treatment resistant depression, and that the combination is not well tolerated. We recommend that GPs think very carefully before adding mirtazapine as a second antidepressant in this group of patients. This is particularly important when there are clear alternatives such as cognitive behavioural therapy, which has been shown to be effective in this group of patients.”

Professor Ian Anderson from The University of Manchesteer said: "There is a clear need for guidance about the best way to improve the outcome of depression treated in primary care, especially when the first treatment has not worked. Probably the best way to summarise the outcome of this study is that it provided weak evidence of a small benefit from the combination of mirtazapine with an SSRI/SNRI antidepressant compared with continuing the SSR/SNRI alone, but at the expense of poorer tolerability.

"In a primary care context, the possible marginal benefit we found in the short-term does not support using this combination as a routine strategy. However, it doesn’t exclude useful benefit in other contexts, and at other doses, or in individual patients. This study provides important evidence about the mirtazapine-SSRI/SNRI combination in the setting and way in which it was studied, but we need to be careful not to take it as the final word in all situations."

MIRtazapine added to SSRIs or SNRIs for Treatment Resistant Depression in Primary Care: a placebo controlled randomised trial (MIR) is available here

]]>headlines,research,health,psychiatry,depressionMon, 05 Nov 2018 10:30:29 +0000https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1369/500_tablets-2148889-1920.jpg?10000Poverty blamed for widening north-south gap in young adult deathshttps://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/poverty-blamed-on-widening-north-south-gap-in-young-adult-deaths/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/poverty-blamed-on-widening-north-south-gap-in-young-adult-deaths/A major study of mortality across England led by University of Manchester data scientists blames socioeconomic deprivation for sharp rises in deaths among 22 to 44-year-olds living in the North of England.
]]>A major study of mortality across England led by University of Manchester data scientists blames socioeconomic deprivation for sharp rises in deaths among 22 to 44-year-olds living in the North of England.

Deaths from accidents, alcohol and drug poisoning increased nationwide, but more quickly in the North, where deprivation tends to be greater and more widespread, find the team.

Over three years between 2014 and 2016, 3530 more men and 1881, more women aged between 25 and 44 died in the North than in the South from 2014 to 2016, when population and age are taken into account.

Accounting for age and sex, northerners aged 25-44 were 47% more likely to die from cardiovascular reasons, 109% more likely to die from alcohol misuse and 60% more likely from drug misuse, compared to southerners.

London had the lowest mortality rates, with the North East having the highest, even after adjusting for age, sex and socio-economic deprivation.

Suicide among men, especially at ages 30-34, and cancer deaths among women were also important factors.

National cardiovascular death rates declined over the study period, though the North - South gap persists.

The research was funded by the Wellcome Trust and the Health eResearch Centre, which is supported by a consortium of 10 funders including the Medical Research Council.

“Sharp rises in deaths from accidents, suicide, alcohol misuse, smoking, cancer and drug addiction appear to have created new health divisions between England’s regions and are profoundly concerning.” said Professor Kontopantelis

“These causes of death are all strongly associated with socioeconomic deprivation and in our models two-thirds of the excess mortality in the north was explained by that.

“Alcohol for example, underpins the steep and sustained increase in liver cirrhosis deaths in Britain from the 1990s, when the North-South divide in mortality for those aged 25-44 started to emerge.”

Previous research has shown that men aged 25-44 and living the most deprived areas are five times more likely to die from alcohol-related diseases. And the risk for women, is four times greater.

And previous research has also found that unskilled men aged 25-39 are 10-20 times more likely to die from alcohol-related causes, compared to professionals.

It is widely known that mortality rates for cancer are higher in more deprived areas and have worse survival rates where smoking and alcohol abuse is more prevalent.

Heroin and crack cocaine addiction and deaths from drug overdoses are also strongly associated with deprivation.

Mortality data for adults aged 25-44 were aggregated and compared between England’s five northernmost versus its five southernmost Government Office Regions, between 1981 and 2016.

It revealed that, although there was little difference between early deaths in the North and the South in the 1990s, by 2016 a gap had opened up nonetheless.

Professor Kontopantelis added: “The reasons for the divide are complex and reach back centuries, with extreme concentration of power, wealth and opportunity in the capital having a malign effect on the rest of the country.

“England’s centralist tradition has blighted successive generations, and without major structural change will continue to damage public health.

“Worse health outcomes in the North reflect higher average levels of deprivation, and the sex difference we find in the North-South mortality gap is plausibly related to greater susceptibility of men to those socioeconomic pressures.

“If these recent trends are not stopped, the national gains made from falling cardiovascular deaths will be overridden and excess mortality in the North may exceed 50%.”

Experimenting on animals is a big part of biomedical research and also a big concern for those interested in animal welfare. Scientists are encouraged to use as few animals as possible in their research, but reducing animal numbers also reduces how precise a researcher can be about the results of a study. If a treatment only has a small effect, lots of animals are needed to see it.

However, a new machine-learning technique (a type of AI) could reduce the number of animals needed in certain studies and still give precise results.

The method, called linear Poisson modelling, developed at the University of Manchester, was created to help planetary scientists automate the inspection of images of Mars and the moon. It was used to learn the different textures of planetary terrain, then measure how much of those same textures appeared elsewhere on the same planet. The method also helped the citizen science project MoonZoo count craters on the moon.

Now back on Earth, it has found a new use as a tool for cancer researchers to inspect medical images of tumours implanted in lab mice. And compared with traditional statistical methods, early tests show that using this method up to 16 times fewer animals may be needed to detect the effects of treatments in cancer research.

The machine learning method can describe the differences between groups of tumours that have been treated and those that have not. The medical images that were used in a proof-of-concept study we carried out used a type of scanning that measures the random motion of water molecules. This is useful because treated tumours become more watery as cell tissue breaks down.

Looking for these changes can be difficult because treatments take time to have an effect and tumours change over time whether they have been treated or not. Plus, there are lots of different ways that tumours can change and no two tumours are exactly alike. This complex behaviour can now be learnt using the machine learning method, allowing treatment effects to be precisely measured in individual tumours.

The more traditional approach, using what statisticians call a t-test, often requires using a dozen or more animals before a precise result can be seen.

A more sensitive method

Cancer treatments can work better in certain combinations and can work better or worse depending upon the genetics of a tumour. Finding out which combinations of treatment work best for different tumours is an ongoing challenge.

The number of genetic differences between tumours and the number of treatment combinations that are possible leads to many thousands of experiments that need to be performed. This new method has the potential to significantly reduce the number of animals needed for large experiments. The sensitivity of the method may also allow shorter experiments to be performed, thereby reducing the discomfort and distress of the animals involved.

Our proof-of-concept study is the first step to fully realising the benefits of the new approach, but it must first be demonstrated that similar results can be repeated on other tumour images. We are optimistic that they will.

]]>Research,Animal Research,Headlines,Health,Medicine,3Rs,biology,statisticsWed, 31 Oct 2018 09:21:38 +0000https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1369/500_mice2july2016-553108.jpg?10000Drugs’ side effects in lungs ‘more widespread than thought’https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/drugs-side-effects-in-lungs-more-widespread-than-thought/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/drugs-side-effects-in-lungs-more-widespread-than-thought/A systematic review of research has revealed that the toxic effects on the lung of drugs commonly taken to treat a range of common conditions is much more widespread than thought.
]]>A systematic review of research has revealed that the toxic effects on the lung of drugs commonly taken to treat a range of common conditions is much more widespread than thought.

Though the 27 drugs treating a range of conditions including arthritis, cancer and the heart are successful for most patients, doctors, say the team, need to be more aware of the potential risks to their respiratory systems.

The research was carried out by academics at the Universities of Manchester, Leeds, and Sheffield as well as clinicians at NIHR Manchester Biomedical Research Centre, Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust and Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC).

The study, which looked at 6,200 patients’ data from 156 papers is published in the Journal of Clinical Medicine.

The team are part of a €24 million project funded by the European Union and the European pharmaceutical industry’s Innovative Medicine Initiative which is developing imaging techniques for the management of drug-induced interstitial lung disease (DIILD). It is co-led by EORTC and Bioxydyn Ltd, a University of Manchester spin-out company.

Though DIILD can cause difficulty breathing, inflammation and fibrosis, the risk sometimes only becomes apparent after the drugs have been in use for some years.

Though the team say clinicians are hindered because most of the papers they reviewed were of low or very low quality. Between 4.1 and 12.4 cases of DIILD per million per year were reported worldwide accord to the review.

And the review also found that DIILD accounted for around 3–5% of all interstitial lung disease cases.

In some of the studies, mortality rates of over 50% were reported and overall, 25% of all the patients studied died as a result of respiratory symptoms.

Steroids were the most common drug used to treat DIILD, but no studies examined their effect on outcome.

John Waterton, a Professor of Translational Imaging from The University of Manchester, was on the research team. He said: “Though this area is not well researched, we can say that the side effects of drugs on the lung are much more widespread than previously thought.

“We do know it affects a considerable number of people, which is why we want to develop better imaging tests to pick up any lung problems before they become serious.

“It’s important to stress that patients can safely continue to take their medication - but it’s also important that doctors monitor and assess them closely for side effects in the lung.”

On the team is also Dr Nazia Chaudhuri honorary senior lecturer at The University of Manchester and a consultant physician at Wythenshawe Hospital, part of Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, who has a specialist interest in interstitial lung disease.

She said: “ Doctors need to be aware and vigilant to the possible lung toxicities and harm that can be caused by some drugs. With newer drugs coming on the market this is an increasing yet under recognised problem and we need better ways of detecting these side effects before they cause harm.”

The paper ‘Drug-Induced Interstitial Lung Disease: A Systematic Review’ is published in the Journal of Clinical Medicine and is available here.

‘This research was funded by Innovative Medicines Initiatives 2 Joint Undertaking under grant agreement No. 116106. This Joint Undertaking receives support from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme and EFPIA.’

]]>headlines,health,medicine,research,respiratoryMon, 29 Oct 2018 15:00:00 +0000https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1369/500_pillsweb.jpg?10000Antibiotics are ‘avoidable trigger’ for bowel disease https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/antibiotics-are-avoidable-trigger-for-bowel-disease/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/antibiotics-are-avoidable-trigger-for-bowel-disease/Scientists at The University of Manchester have shown for the first time how antibiotics can predispose the gut to avoidable infections that trigger bowel disease in mice.
]]>Scientists at The University of Manchester have shown for the first time how antibiotics can predispose the gut to avoidable infections that trigger bowel disease in mice.

The team, led by Dr Elizabeth Mann, also showed that substances derived from fibre prevent this damage to the gut, suggesting a high fibre diet could be useful when taken during and after a course of antibiotics.

They tested broad spectrum antibiotics on mice to assess their impact on the gut’s microbiota, the community of microbes that live in the gastrointestinal tract.

After a week long course of antibiotics, a harmful immune reaction started that lasted at least 2 months, an equivalent, say the researchers, of many years in humans.

The immune reaction meant that significantly fewer beneficial bacteria which make ‘short chain fatty acids’, which are good for the gut, grew back.

However, short chain fatty acids, produced by the fermentation of dietary fibre by the microorganisms which live in the gut, could prevent the harmful immune response.

“Epidemiological evidence already links antibiotics given to babies and young children, when the immune system is still developing, to inflammatory bowel disease, asthma, psoriasis and other inflammatory diseases later in life,” said Dr Mann, who is based at the University’s newly launched Lydia Becker Institute of Immunology and Inflammation.

She said: “However, until now it has been hard to determine cause and effect, especially with the time lag between taking the antibiotics and the development of disease later in life.

More than 30m people worldwide suffer from Alzheimer’s disease – the most common form of dementia. Unfortunately, there is no cure, only drugs to ease the symptoms. However, my latest review, suggests a way to treat the disease. I found the strongest evidence yet that the herpes virus is a cause of Alzheimer’s, suggesting that effective and safe antiviral drugs might be able to treat the disease. We might even be able to vaccinate our children against it.

The virus implicated in Alzheimer’s disease, herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV1), is better known for causing cold sores. It infects most people in infancy and then remains dormant in the peripheral nervous system (the part of the nervous system that isn’t the brain and the spinal cord). Occasionally, if a person is stressed, the virus becomes activated and, in some people, it causes cold sores.

We discovered in 1991 that in many elderly people HSV1 is also present in the brain. And in 1997 we showed that it confers a strong risk of Alzheimer’s disease when present in the brain of people who have a specific gene known as APOE4.

The virus can become active in the brain, perhaps repeatedly, and this probably causes cumulative damage. The likelihood of developing Alzheimer’s disease is 12 times greater for APOE4 carriers who have HSV1 in the brain than for those with neither factor.

Later, we and others found that HSV1 infection of cell cultures causes beta-amyloid and abnormal tau proteins to accumulate. An accumulation of these proteins in the brain is characteristic of Alzheimer’s disease.

We believe that HSV1 is a major contributory factor for Alzheimer’s disease and that it enters the brains of elderly people as their immune system declines with age. It then establishes a latent (dormant) infection, from which it is reactivated by events such as stress, a reduced immune system and brain inflammation induced by infection by other microbes.

Reactivation leads to direct viral damage in infected cells and to viral-induced inflammation. We suggest that repeated activation causes cumulative damage, leading eventually to Alzheimer’s disease in people with the APOE4 gene.

Presumably, in APOE4 carriers, Alzheimer’s disease develops in the brain because of greater HSV1-induced formation of toxic products, or less repair of damage.

New treatments?

The data suggest that antiviral agents might be used for treating Alzheimer’s disease. The main antiviral agents, which are safe, prevent new viruses from forming, thereby limiting viral damage.

In an earlier study, we found that the anti-herpes antiviral drug, acyclovir, blocks HSV1 DNA replication, and reduces levels of beta-amyloid and tau caused by HSV1 infection of cell cultures.

It’s important to note that all studies, including our own, only show an association between the herpes virus and Alzheimer’s – they don’t prove that the virus is an actual cause. Probably the only way to prove that a microbe is a cause of a disease is to show that an occurrence of the disease is greatly reduced either by targeting the microbe with a specific anti-microbial agent or by specific vaccination against the microbe.

Excitingly, successful prevention of Alzheimer’s disease by use of specific anti-herpes agents has now been demonstrated in a large-scale population study in Taiwan. Hopefully, information inother countries, if available, will yield similar results.

By the age of 65, at least half of us will suffer from two or more long-term diseases. And the chance of having multi-morbidity, as it is known, increases with age.

Only 9% of people with coronary heart disease have no other condition. The other 91% have various combinations of hypertension (high blood pressure), heart failure, stroke, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, depression, dementia, chronic kidney disease and so on.

And it’s not just the elderly who suffer from several long-term conditions – young people do too. In poor areas, the occurrence of two or more diseases in the young [can occur ten to 15 years earlier] compared with those in wealthier regions.

People with multi-morbidities have to take a range of drugs: one or more for each disease. But whether drugs developed to treat single diseases are effective in patients with multi-morbidity is a matter of debate. In some patients, their body attacks the drug as though it were a pathogen. In other patients, the treatment causes [side effects] that are worse than the disease being treated, including an increased risk of infection.

A new class of drugs, so-called disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs, are being used to treat rheumatoid arthritis. These drugs treat the underlying disease rather than just ease the symptoms. This is a major advance, but at least 40% of the people taking them won’t see an improvement in their symptoms. This is probably because most patients have another disease, which may stop the drug working properly.

The root of the problem in developing all new medicines lies in the tendency to research, diagnose and treat diseases as a single entity. The single disease approach goes right back to the way biology is taught at school and university.

Multi-morbidity is the norm

A growing number of medical researchers think we should learn from disease combinations. This may seem like an impossible task, given the number of possible combinations, but some combinations are very common, such as heart disease and high blood pressure. And not taking multi-morbidities into account affects every stage of introducing a new drug, from its discovery to testing it in patients.

The decision to develop a new drug is based on the careful analysis of thousands of patient groups. But these groups are not divided based on the presence of other existing diseases. By not grouping patients based on pre-existing conditions, many relevant new drugs specific for particular disease combinations may be missed.

Once new drugs have been developed, they are first tested in animal models of a particular disease or in tissue culture, containing an individual cell type. There is no guarantee that this type of test is relevant for human disease, and there is also no guarantee that relevant drugs won’t be missed that might have worked in more complex disease combinations.

Multi-morbidities are also not taken into account when new drugs are tested in patients. Remarkably, the patients who have the most severe disease combinations, and are the most problematic to treat, are mostly excluded from clinical trials. In coronary heart disease, for example, on average, 69% of patients with multi-mobidities are excluded from clinical trials because clinicians are wary of making their disease even worse. Yet these are the patients that most need the treatment. Also, how the drug works may differ in patients with one disease compared with patients with more than one disease.

The situation is even worse for dementia patients where 95% have other diseases, yet in 86% of trials, patients with other conditions are excluded. Instead, recruitment for clinical trials picks those patients who are potentially less affected by the disease in question, as they do not have any of the commonly associated multi-morbidities, which could also mean they are in a younger age group that responds differently to the drug.

Appetite for a new approach

Is it any wonder that little progress has been made in the treatment of the most debilitating conditions affecting the human race? New targets for drugs should not be chosen irrespective of what else is wrong with the patient. Rather patients with a particular disease should be sub-categorised and studied based on the other diseases they have, and treatment specifically tested and tailored to their needs.

Also, science funding bodies and the pharmaceutical industry should drive the development of new animal and tissue culture models in which to test new drugs that encompass patient disease complexity. There is an appetite among researchers for this approach, but the momentum needs toincrease.

]]>Health,Medicine,Research,Headlines,Drugs trialsThu, 18 Oct 2018 10:35:32 +0100https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1369/500_img-7973copy.jpg?10000Hypothesis underpinning dementia research ‘flawed’https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/hypothesis-underpinning-dementia-research-flawed/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/hypothesis-underpinning-dementia-research-flawed/A hypothesis which has been the standard way of explaining how the body develops Alzheimer’s Disease for almost 30 years is flawed, according to a University of Manchester biologist.
]]>A hypothesis which has been the standard way of explaining how the body develops Alzheimer’s Disease for almost 30 years is flawed, according to a University of Manchester biologist.

The ‘Amyloid Cascade’ argues that a series of stages, starting from the deposition of a starch-like protein called amyloid and ending with dementia, should be reassessed.

Prof Andrew Doig’s review of 120 scientific papers finds that the stages were not linked together in a cascade and the progression to dementia was not linear.

His review is published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease.

“It’s wrong to use a series of waterfalls as an analogy for how dementia develops, as water cannot flow uphill”, said Prof Doig.

“My review shows the system is actually cyclical and does not flow one way – but is a series of feedback loops. Progress in recent years shows some of the elements go back and forth- both upstream and downstream.

”Most research has been at the top of the cascade. But we need to consider other drug targets too.”

According to the cascade, enzymes cut the amyloid into fragments which form plaques that damage cells.

Calcium rises in cells, followed by inflammation and then oxidative stress - an imbalance between certain molecules containing oxygen and antioxidants - and then cell death which causes dementia.

However, according to the research reviewed by Prof Doig, inflammation can either lead to enhanced amyloid deposition or oxidative stress.

Prof Doig added: “The fact that this process is cyclical has important implications as we’re missing opportunities for drug discovery.

“So for example, we need to take a closer look at inflammation and oxidative stress and their relation to amyloid plaques. If we use the Amyloid Cascade hypothesis, that would be less likely to happen.”

“Over the 26 years since the cascade was first described, hundreds of drugs based on this hypothesis have been trialled in people but none of them have worked.

“But if you realise the cyclical nature of this, then combinations of therapies could have a part to play.”

]]>headlines,health,medical,dementia,agingTue, 16 Oct 2018 15:45:00 +0100https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1369/500_istock-000083379035-full.jpg?10000Older people who self-harm at highest risk of suicide, finds studyhttps://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/older-people-who-self-harm-at-highest-risk-of-suicide-finds-study/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/older-people-who-self-harm-at-highest-risk-of-suicide-finds-study/‘Self-harm not just a problem in young people’People over 65 who harm themselves are more likely to die by suicide than other age groups according to new research published in the Lancet Psychiatry by University of Manchester and Keele University academics.
]]>People over 65 who harm themselves are more likely to die by suicide than other age groups according to new research published in the Lancet Psychiatry by University of Manchester and Keele University academics.

It showed that people over 65 who self-harm are 20 times more likely to die an unnatural death and 145 times more likely to die by suicide than people of the same age who had not self-harmed.

The study also found that only 12% of older patients who self-harmed had a record of being referred to a mental health service for aftercare. National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines suggest that the involvement of mental health specialists is important because older people who self-harm may have higher suicidal intent than younger people.

Physical health problems were more common in older patients who had harmed themselves compared to those who had not.

Following a self-harm episode, over one in ten of those aged 65 and over were prescribed tricyclic antidepressants which can be toxic when taken in overdose.

Dr Cathy Morgan, who led the study and analysed the data said: “With the aging population rising and a lack of research in this age group, this study - - the first of its kind conducted in primary care – has gone some way in highlighting the risks of self-harm in older people.

“This study emphasises the need for early intervention, careful alternative prescribing and better support for older people who may see their GP following an episode of self-harm or for other health problems.”

Professor Nav Kapur, one of the authors of the paper who chaired the NICE guidelines for self-harm said: “We sometimes think of self-harm as a problem in younger people and of course it is. But it effects older adults too and the concerning issue is the link with increased risk of suicide.

“Older people might be particularly vulnerable as they are uniquely exposed to issues such as bereavement, isolation and physical as well as mental illness.

“They also might fear the consequences of becoming a burden to their family or friends, or not being able to function from day to day.”

He added: “We hope our study will alert clinicians, service planners, and policy makers to the need to implement preventative measures for this potentially vulnerable group of people. Referral and management of mental health conditions are likely to be key”

Professor Carolyn Chew-Graham, from Keele University one of the research team and a practising GP said: “Since drug ingestion is one of the main methods of self-harm, we highlight the need to consider less toxic medication in older adults for the management of both mental illness and pain related conditions.

“GPs are after all in a unique position to intervene as older patients come to the surgery more frequently than younger adults.”

]]>headlines,Psychiatry,Health,Mental Health,Research,Medicine,Home affairsTue, 16 Oct 2018 02:32:00 +0100https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1369/500_sex-seventies-elderly-couple.jpg?10000Candida test could save liveshttps://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/candida-test-could-save-lives/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/candida-test-could-save-lives/A study by a team of clinicians and scientists from Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust and The University of Manchester, published in the latest issue of the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, shows how deaths from a serious blood stream infection caused by the yeast Candida can be avoided.
]]>A study by a team of clinicians and scientists from Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust and The University of Manchester, published in the latest issue of the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, shows how deaths from a serious blood stream infection caused by the yeast Candida can be avoided. The study using a biomarker found in patients’ blood (b-1-3-D-glucan) also shows a reduction in inappropriate prescriptions of expensive antifungal drugs.

Diagnosis of Candida blood stream infection is difficult leading to over-use of lifesaving but expensive anti-fungal drugs. Antifungal stewardship aims to ensure that only patients with fungal infections are given antifungal drugs. Current challenges include limited availability of diagnostic tests, long laboratory turnaround times, lack of antifungal stewardship expertise and insufficient evidence identifying effective stewardship interventions. Severe fungal infections, including sepsis caused by Candida, are increasingly found in patients in intensive care and is associated with a high mortality rate. The best outcomes for patients are seen when antifungal drugs are started early.

The Infectious Diseases and Intensive Care Units in collaboration with the NHS Mycology Reference Centre at Wythenshawe Hospital in Manchester have been developing an antifungal stewardship program over the past 8 years. Key targets of the program are to improve patient outcome while reducing unnecessary use of antifungal drugs by:

Updating and implementing concise antifungal guidelines based on a European guidance

Involving and educating clinical champions

Improving access to timely diagnostic testing

The main difference in the Manchester study was a patient centred approach focused on improving outcomes compared with most antifungal stewardship programs which are dedicated to managing severe fungal infections and reducing the use of expensive antifungal agents.

The standard diagnostic test for sepsis caused by Candida is blood culture but this has a low sensitivity. There is a perception that available biomarker tests may not be useful forcing clinicians to rely on their clinical experience and judgment. This results in an overuse of antifungal drugs in many intensive care units. The Manchester antifungal stewardship program successfully reduced the mortality due to Candida infection by 58%. At the same time the number of inappropriate prescriptions of antifungal drugs by 90%. The paper concludes that testing for a blood biomarker (β-1-3-D-glucan) allows safe stopping of antifungal drugs in patients in intensive care units at risk of serious fungal infection.

Doctor Riina Rautemaa-Richardson, clinical senior lecturer and researcher at the University of Manchester and Consultant at the Manchester University Foundation Trust said: “It is possible to save lives and money with the help of fungal diagnostic tests.”

Doctor Timothy Felton, an Intensive Care Consultant and University of Manchester honorary lecturer, added: “As an intensive care doctor, I often worry if my patient has a severe fungal infection. Using a fungal diagnostic test allows me to start and stop antifungal drugs with more confidence.”

]]>headlines,medical,health,research,fungal infectionsMon, 15 Oct 2018 13:41:33 +0100https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1369/500_candida-albicans1.jpg?10000Hearing and visual aids linked to slower age-related memory losshttps://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/hearing-and-visual-aids-linked-to-slower-age-related-memory-loss/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/hearing-and-visual-aids-linked-to-slower-age-related-memory-loss/Hearing aids and cataract surgery are strongly linked to a slower rate of age-related cognitive decline, according to new research by University of Manchester academics.
]]>Hearing aids and cataract surgery are strongly linked to a slower rate of age-related cognitive decline, according to new research by University of Manchester academics.

According to Dr Piers Dawes and Dr Asri Maharani, cognitive decline- which affects memory and thinking skills- is slowed after patient’s hearing and sight are improved.

The rate of decline was halved following cataract surgery and was 75% less following the adoption of hearing aids.

The research on cataract surgery - which is published in PLOS ONE today– was carried out using 2,068 individuals who underwent cataract surgery between Wave 2 and Wave 6 of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing survey from between 2002 to 2014.

They were compared with 3,636 individuals with no cataract surgery.

And the research on hearing aids, published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society in July, was carried out using 2040 participants in the American Health and Retirement survey from 1996 to 2014

Both surveys assess cognitive decline by testing memory, asking participants to recall 10 words immediately and then at the end of the cognitive function module.

The researchers compared the rates of decline before and after the patients had surgery or started wearing a hearing aid.

Dr Dawes said: “These studies underline just how important it is to overcome the barriers which deny people from accessing hearing and visual aids.

“It’s not really certain why hearing and visual problems have an impact on cognitive decline, but I’d guess that isolation, stigma and the resultant lack of physical activity that are linked to hearing and vision problems might have something to do with it.

“And there are barriers to overcome: people might not want to wear hearing aids because of stigma attached to wearing them, or they feel the amplification is not good enough or they’re not comfortable.

“Perhaps a way forward is adult screening to better identify hearing and vision problems and in the case of hearing loss, demedicalising the whole process so treatment is done outside the clinical setting. That could reduce stigma.

“Wearable hearing devices are coming on stream nowadays which might also be helpful. They not only assist your hearing, but give you access to the internet and other services

Dr Maharani said: “Age is one of the most important factors implicated in cognitive decline. We find that hearing and vision interventions may slow it down and perhaps prevent some cases of dementia, which is exciting- though we can’t say yet that this is a causal relationship.

“Other studies have attempted to look at rates of cognitive decline- but have not really succeeded as it’s hard to take into account demographic factors.

“But the beauty of this study is that we’re comparing the progress of the same individuals over time.”

This research is funded by the European Commission’s Horizon 2020 Framework

]]>headlines,health,hearing,research,surgery,eyes,vision,audiology,dementia,AgeingFri, 12 Oct 2018 08:21:00 +0100https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1369/500_hearing-aid.jpg?10000Greater Manchester universities to offer more mental health support to students https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/greater-manchester-universities-to-offer-more-mental-health-support-to-students/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/greater-manchester-universities-to-offer-more-mental-health-support-to-students/Greater Manchester will be the first place in the country to establish a dedicated centre to help support higher education students with mental health needs.
]]>Greater Manchester will be the first place in the country to establish a dedicated centre to help support higher education students with mental health needs thanks to a new partnership between the region’s four universities and the Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership, the body that oversees the area’s £6bn devolved health and social care budget.

One in five 16-24 year olds experience depression or anxiety. The transition to university can be a tough time, with many young people living away from home, family and friends for the first time.

The new service will offer innovative and accessible treatment, looking at digital technology such as virtual clinics, to university students experiencing mental illness, for example eating disorders and severe depression.

Greater Manchester has one of the largest student populations in the country. The University of Manchester, Manchester Metropolitan University, Royal Northern College of Music, the University of Bolton and the University of Salford’s student body represents around 100,000 people.

The new service will transform mental health provision for university students in Greater Manchester by making sure that it’s easier to get referred, regardless of where someone studies or lives and that young people are supported with the transition to university. Students will also be able to keep the same GP throughout their student career with the roll-out of a Greater Manchester university-student GP passport.

Under the new system, wherever a student presents to the mental health system (NHS, third sector or at university), they would receive a standard assessment. Depending on the result of this, they would then proceed either to university services, or for more specialist intervention at a new centre.

This more integrated approach will also help to co-ordinate efforts to promote well-being and prevention, and share examples of successful practice. As services will focus specifically on students, planning will be able to take into account important demand factors such as exam times but the experience of the centre will also benefit staff.

The new centre will open in the academic year 2019-20. The plans were developed alongside the core partners and with the help of exsiting mental health and psychological services within the universities, charities and students’ unions. It will be jointly funded by all the partners.

Dr Sandeep Ranote, consultant child and adolescent psychiatrist and children’s mental health lead for Greater Manchestersaid: “Prioritising student mental health is vital to ensuring that young people and those going back to study later in life get the very best out of university and thrive during their student careers.

“Greater Manchester has the largest university student population in Europe, with significantly increasing reports from our students of mental health difficulties. This can have a devastating impact on the student, their network, the staff supporting them and importantly the student’s future.

“It’s time to treat mental health with the same importance as physical health. Good emotional health is the foundation for future well-being. Developing a dedicated mental health service that provides support from “prevention to prescription” enables us to create the campuses of tomorrow.”

Professor Dame Nancy Rothwell, President and Vice-Chancellor of The University of Manchester said: “Mental health is one of the top issues that students tell us about and we have invested significantly in services at The University Manchester and in this important new initiative.

“The next logical step is to share expertise and resources across the whole region, and create a model that will benefit thousands of people. I am very pleased that The University of Manchester will play an important role in this and I hope that it is an idea that can be used across the whole country.”

Professor Helen Marshall, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Salford, said: “We should never underestimate the welfare needs of our students, so we are delighted to invest in a more comprehensive service to support them.

“We don’t just want our people to be well-educated; we want them to be well.”

Professor George Holmes, President and Vice Chancellor of the University of Bolton, said that the mental health of students was of paramount importance.

Prof Holmes said: "In Bolton we have excellent support mechanisms already in place, as the welfare of our students is our number one priority.

"It is excellent news that Greater Manchester is at the forefront of addressing the issue of students' mental wellbeing and the University of Bolton is proud to be playing a significant part in the initiative."

Professor Malcolm Press, Vice-Chancellor of Manchester Metropolitan University, said: “Students are at the heart of everything we do at Manchester Metropolitan and ensuring their health and wellbeing is a priority. This new centre will play a vital role in addressing the growing issues of mental health problems among young people.

“I am delighted Manchester Metropolitan can be an important member of this partnership between the Greater Manchester universities and the Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership - and believe it will provide a model for others to follow.”

If you need help or someone you know acting differently such as seeming low, worried or stressed. You can call the University's Counselling Service on +44 (0)161 275 2864, Monday to Friday 9am to 4pm, or email counselling.service@manchester.ac.uk

Nightline is a confidential listening and information service run for students by students; contact Nightline on +44 (0)161 275 3983. Lines are open 8pm – 8am during term time.

]]>headlines,health,University-news,student-news,students,student,Student News,science-and-engineering,mental-health,topbanner,humanitiesWed, 10 Oct 2018 11:18:00 +0100https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1369/500_selfharmmentalhealth.jpg?10000Downward mobility link to violent crime and self-harmhttps://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/downward-mobility-link-to-violent-crime-and-self-harm/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/downward-mobility-link-to-violent-crime-and-self-harm/The children of families who fall upon hard times are at significantly greater risk of being involved in violent crime and harming themselves as young adults, according to a major new study.
]]>The children of families who fall upon hard times are at significantly greater risk of being involved in violent crime and harming themselves as young adults, according to a major new study.

The research by University of Manchester epidemiologists is a major addition to our understanding of the risk factors for self-harm and violent criminality.

The knowledge was generated from a study funded by the European Research Council of the young adult population of Denmark published today in The Lancet Public Health.

Children who remained in the top 20% of wealthiest families over their first 15 years of life were the least likely to harm themselves or commit violent crime between the ages of 15 and 33.

Compared to the wealthiest fifth, children from families who remained in the least affluent fifth of society were 7 times more likely to harm themselves and 13 times more likely to commit violent crime as young adults.

Children from families whose income dropped from the top fifth to the bottom fifth were 2.9 times more likely to commit violent crime and 2.3 times more likely to self-harm as young adults.

And children from families whose income rose from the bottom fifth to the top fifth were 1.6 times more likely to self-harm and to commit violent crime as young adults.

Using Danish national registers of over one million young adults, the study analysed 21,267 patients who presented to hospital with self-harm episodes and 23,724 people who were convicted for violent crime aged 15 to 33.

Parental income was measured at birth-year, and at ages 5, 10 and 15.

Professor Webb said: “This study casts new light on our understanding of the deep-rooted causes of self-harm and violent behaviour. Though to some extent, we all make choices, what children go through does have a powerful effect on these harmful behaviours.

“Though the report drew on data relating to the entire population of Denmark, its results are relevant to the UK, whose population demographics are similar, as is their health system.

“In fact, income inequality in Denmark is one of the lowest in the world, so we’d expect these findings to be even more pronounced in countries with greater levels of income inequality, such as the UK.”

He added: “These two harmful behaviours pose serious societal challenges. After accidents, intentional self-harm and assault are the next two most common causes of death among young people globally.

“Exposure to poverty can have an adverse impact on early child development as well as parental conflict and separation, harming children’s psychosocial development and well-being.

“We would also imagine that ten years of austerity in the UK would escalate and entrench these problems: Poverty still affects more than one in four children in the UK today according to Child Poverty Action group.

“So this study underlines just how important it is to tackle socioeconomic inequalities during childhood.

“That encompasses access to public services, good housing and education but also things like local and social environments.”

]]>headlines,Health,Psychology,Research,Psychiatry,Self Harm,ViolenceWed, 10 Oct 2018 09:00:00 +0100https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1369/500_violence.jpg?10000Public initiative to raise awareness of psoriasishttps://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/public-initiative-to-raise-awareness-of-psoriasis/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/public-initiative-to-raise-awareness-of-psoriasis/Following on from its success in previous years, the Psoriasis Shout Out is taking to the road this year, expanding its reach across the UK and Ireland. World-leading psoriasis expert Professor Chris Griffiths, Director of the Manchester Centre for Dermatology Research at The University of Manchester is heading the series of special events to get people talking about this often overlooked chronic condition.
]]>Following on from its success in previous years, the Psoriasis Shout Out is taking to the road this year, expanding its reach across the UK and Ireland.

World-leading psoriasis expert Professor Chris Griffiths, Director of the Manchester Centre for Dermatology Research at The University of Manchester is heading the series of special events to get people talking about this often overlooked chronic condition.

The healthcare roadshow will be visiting locations across Greater Manchester and Ireland from the 9th to the 13th of October to raise awareness of this chronic and often life-altering skin condition.

Researchers, clinicians and patients alike are joining forces to spread the message that given the right treatment and support, it’s possible to live well with psoriasis.

Psoriasis is characterised by red, scaling patches on the skin but is also associated with other conditions such as heart disease, arthritis and depression

The condition affects over 1.8 million people across the UK, which equates to 75,000 patients in Greater Manchester alone - enough to pack out Old Trafford Stadium!

Professor Griffiths, who is also a Consultant Dermatologist at Salford Royal Hospital, said: “For many people psoriasis can be life ruining, but treatments are getting better all the time with many more options available. We aim to highlight to patients the range of pioneering research ongoing in Manchester and beyond”

The trailer will be visiting Salford Royal Hospital, St Ann’s Square, Manchester and Bury , complete with a fully-equipped healthcare trailer. Visitors will be able to jump onboard and speak with clinicians, researchers and patient ambassadors.

Free events for the public will be held in Manchester, Newcastle, Leeds and Dublin.

Events in Manchester include a patient focused event on Thursday 11th October at CityLabs, Nelson Street (0ff Oxford Road) 5-7pm.

This will be an opportunity for patients to find out more about psoriasis, treatment options and research opportunities in Manchester.

This is immediately followed by a launch event (7-8.30pm) for the new Psoriasis-Rapid Access Clinic - a cutting edge initiative and a revolutionary approach to psoriasis management which may be transformational for patients.

An introduction to Lyengar yoga as a way to reduce stress and improve overall wellbeing will also be held on the 12th of October between 10:30-11:30 in G.66 Simon Building at The University of Manchester. ….

To mark the 50th Anniversary of the UK Psoriasis Association, patients and professionals will also be encouraged throughout the week to get involved in creating their own 50 second shout outs – audio clips sharing experience, busting myths and letting everyone know what living with psoriasis is really like.

]]>headlines,dermatology,engagement,health,social responsibilityMon, 08 Oct 2018 09:07:00 +0100https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1369/500_psoriasisshoutout2.jpg?10000Discharged mental health patients ‘at greater risk of dying’https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/discharged-mental-health-patients-at-greater-risk-of-dying/
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/discharged-mental-health-patients-at-greater-risk-of-dying/Mental health patients are at much greater risk of dying from unnatural causes following their first discharge from inpatient care than the rest of the population, according to new research.
]]>Mental health patients are at much greater risk of dying from unnatural causes following their first discharge from inpatient care than the rest of the population, according to new research.

In the most comprehensive study of this topic ever carried out, The University of Manchester team say though danger to patients is still relatively low, community services and GPs must be aware of the critical period in the first few weeks of discharge - when they are most at risk.

Though the report drew on data derived the entire population of Denmark, its results are relevant to the UK, which has a similar population and health system, say authors Professor Roger Webb and PhD student Florian Walter.

According to the team, the most common threat to life among patients after discharge is fatal poisoning compared to accidents among the general population.

The research was funded by Medical Research Council, European Research Council in partnership with Centre for Integrated Register-based Research and National Centre for Register-based Research at Aarhus University. It is published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry today.

The analysis compared over 1.6 million Danes with a subset of 47,000 people who were discharged from their first inpatient stay between 1982 and 1996.

Utilising national administrative datasets, the research team were able to track the group of patients, who averaged age 25 when they were discharged until they died or 31 December 2011.

They looked at method of suicide, types of accidental death, types of fatal poisoning and death by homicide.

Though there is a strong association between hospital discharge and unnatural death, there is no evidence of a causal link between the two, say the researchers.

According to the research, suicide was 32 times more likely after discharge: 171.7 people in every 100,000 died after leaving hospital, compared to 5.3 in every 100,000 for the general population

Intentional self-poisoning was 41 times more likely: 57.1 people in every 100,000 died after hospital discharge, compared to 1.3 in every 100,000 for the general population

And death from fatal psychotropic drugs poisoning , irrespective of intent was over 90 times more likely: 25.6 people in every 100,000 after hospital discharge, compared to 0.2 in every 100,000 for the general population.

Professor Webb said: “When we look at detailed causes of death, each one is markedly raised whether that’s traffic accidents or poisoning.

“So it’s clear this group of people is more vulnerable to dying from a variety of different unnatural causes after discharge, although the risks for each of these causes are nonetheless relatively low in absolute terms.

”However, it’s important to point out hospital is not a cause of unnatural death as these patients are a young cohort already from high risk groups; therefore the risk of dying could be even higher without hospitalisation.”

Florian Walter said: “This is the first study to look at the full range unnatural causes of death among mental health patients after discharge from hospital ever carried out.

“The Danish system is ideal for this sort of research because Danes are given a unique identification number which provides data that are entered into several national registers.”

A previous study by Walter, published in JAMA Psychiatry in 2017, found that patients are most at risk in the first month after discharge.

He added: “The overarching message is that transition from hospital to community is riskier for these people, especially during the first few weeks after discharge.

“Therefore mental health services need to develop broad strategies that include enhanced post-discharge surveillance. These strategies must account for the fact that discharged patients have higher risks of dying unnaturally in lots of different ways.

“We also think better liaison between inpatient and community services is important so that services can be more vigilant about patients taking their medication correctly at the doses prescribed.”